


Unnecessary Secrets

by Deadly Night_Sh1ft (CrookedMath)



Series: Unnecessary Shadows [7]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Dark, Ancient Rituals, Angels, Blindness, Bloodlust, Cannibalism, Conspiracy, Coup d'état, Creator Goddess, Demons, Descent Into Hell - Freeform, Destruction, Devotion, Dismemberment, Divine Light, Dreams vs. Reality, Erotica, Fictional Religion & Theology, Freedom, Genital Piercing, Genocide, Hatred, Heavy BDSM, Homoeroticism, Humiliation, I REGRET NOTHING, Internal Conflict, Jealousy, Madness, Magical Tattoos, Masturbation, Metamorphosis, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Multiple Orgasms, Nymphomania, Office Sex, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character William T. Spears, Passion, Possessive Sex, Possessiveness, Prophecy, Psychokinesis, Rarities, Reaper Drama, Reconciliation, Recovered Memories, Reference to Eugenics, Reunion Sex, Revelations, Reverse Harem, Sadism, Secrets, Self-Regeneration, Severed Bonds, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Tension, Soul Bond, Strained Relationships, Sublime Beauty, Tentacle Sex, Transcending Fate, Trials, Trichophilia, Unrequited Love, Volatile Emotions, Yaoi, advocacy, anguish, ikiryo, vengeance, wrath - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-05-13 19:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrookedMath/pseuds/Deadly%20Night_Sh1ft
Summary: The Conduit is reborn, but she is not the same woman Undertaker was fiercely devoted to prior to her "death". Chaos reigns in her heart as she becomes acquainted with forgotten memories and her true feelings. Meanwhile, corruption abounds in the reaper's realm with the upcoming hearings for all involved in the fight over the Conduit in the library. Even worse, Undertaker's existence is at stake for his role in the affair. However, a certain member of the Council is willing to lend his hand to help those involved in the incident to absolve them of their actions...all but one, while also working to end the corruption that has been long infecting the realm. Secrets, lies, and corruption are finally revealed. But, the question remains: How does the corruption of Undertaker's former homeworld tie into the Condiut's ancient Prophecy, and will he live or will he die?***RECOMMENDED READING*** Parts 1 and 4. This picks up where part 4 left off.***DISCLAIMER*** I do not own Kuroshitsuji. That honor goes to Yana Toboso





	1. Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> My OC refers to herself in alternating 1st person proper and 3rd person proper pronouns (She) because of _what_ she has become. At times, she refers to herself in the usual 3rd person pronoun (she) when referencing her past self prior to her reincarnation. It seems complicated, but she's complicated. Outside the context of her dialogue, I will be using normal sentence structure when using her pronouns, this includes the dialogue of other characters. She will always use first person possessive (My; Mine). I hope I didn't confuse anyone.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella/the Conduit's innermost thoughts ~  
> Undertaker's innermost thoughts *  
> Yurei/Ikiryo's thoughts/communication =
> 
> Hi there! Sorry it took sooooooo long to start uploading this wonderful final installment. Holy crap, I've had way too many distractions and health issues going on as of late. Boooooo! No one likes that, right?  
> Lovely is Undertaker's pet name for Stella and will be treated that way unless the context requires otherwise. The Ikiryo always refers to Stella as Conduit and uses proper 2nd person (You) and 3rd person (Conduit) when addressing Stella. After all, she is a deity.  
> Enjoy.

Fiercely glowing, split irises of emerald and sapphire embedded in onyx cabochons beheld the legendary reaper. He was ensnared by the flaming, omnidirectional gems of the Conduit as she approached him. To him, her strange eyes were all that mattered. The fierceness of the reborn creature's eyes softened as she studied him, however, it seemed that for a moment she didn't recognize him. Delicate hands gently swept shaggy silver away from his eyes. Though, his vision was impaired, he could still see well enough to detect the lost innocence in her eyes. In it's place, Divine wisdom was born, and with it, an eerie, indescribable madness darker than his own.

As the fair haired couple beheld each other, the silver haired man recalled the day's series of ill fated events. He was stunned by the extreme nature of the Conduit's transformation. She was no longer the frightened, meek woman he found hiding between two coffins in a dusty corner of his shop a year ago. Instead, over the course of the year, she evolved into a powerful being of dual consciousness able to kill with a single thought without fear, yet she still felt when the circumstances demanded it. Then, this powerful being sacrificed her life so that he might live in order to kick start an ancient Prophecy he knew little about. As he gazed upon the lavender haired petite, he realized it is as the albino had prophesied: She was born again to live for all time. As for the day itself, it was a mere microcosmic echo of the past year with her; all the way up to this very moment.

The woman with the mysteriously forming lines on her arms reached up and delicately traced the scar bisecting the mortician's face with a single, soft fingertip. Her first reborn smile spread over her pouty lips as the bearer of the scar closed his eyes and desperately tried to hide a tiny whimper with a blissful sigh. She knew that for some unknown reason, he felt the need to ask for permission to touch her. "I know what you're thinking," she said softly, finally breaking the silence. "You want to kiss Me, don't you?"

Legendary Death slowly opened his eyes and became enslaved by the hypnotic glow emanating from the reincarnation of the One he loved. "May I?"

Using the reaper's thin, silver braid as leverage, the petite pulled him down into the kiss that was theirs, and _theirs_ alone. She purred softly as black nails trailed up her back and nestled into lavender locks. As the mortician coiled an arm around the Conduit's waist, she indulged in her obsession by burying her arms in the mass of silver he calls hair. Time was of no consequence to the divine pair as they passionately rejoiced in each other. The silver haired legend slowly opened his acidic eyes and beheld the strange eyed beauty before him, once again ensnared by the omnidirectional jewels softly glowing within the void. She stared back, just as transfixed by his hypnotic double irises of acid green ringed by faint gold. As in the days before her rebirth, she innocently twirled the thin, silver braid between her delicate fingers as a touch of pink dusted her cheeks.

"You look so cute when you blush," the legendary reaper pointed out.

The lavender beauty's flush deepened as she playfully punched the male's ribs. "You ass! Don't you always say that to she?"

"I do because it's true," he said, taking her hands in his. The mortician's eyes drifted to the patterns gradually forming on the petite's arms. His joyful smile disappeared when she quickly withdrew her hands from his.

~The she that you knew is not the She that stands before you.~

The voice, soft, dark, sensually malignant, and full of mad wisdom, burrowed deep into the reaper's subconscious. He felt a tingle of dread lick his spine as he beheld the fierce fire burning in her omnidirectional, emerald and sapphire glare. That's when he realized there was something mysterious and powerfully disturbing about her; something much more malignant than the sound of her voice inside his head.

*But what? How? It's so strange. 'We will never sever'?*

~Will we? The choice is Mine. I am She. I am the Conduit.~

The petite smirked at the mortician. "I must cleanse myself of the past. Your efforts to make she 'beautiful' are appreciated, but as you can see, she is dead, but _I_ am alive," the Conduit announced. An intimidating glow lit up her mismatched eyes as she fixed her glare on the legend. "This is My special cleansing, and to gaze upon My ritual is high order blasphemy, punishable by death," the Divine woman warned. "Even mates are not exempt from the rule."

"Lovely," the mortician softly called out. "Have I offended you?"

The woman's mismatched glow softened as she spun about to face the legendary reaper. "I am not offended. I am She, and I am simply giving you fair warning regarding My ritual. Did she not inform you of the importance of My decrees?" The reaper nodded. "This is My 'Rite of Passage'; My Rebirth. I am shedding the skin of what was in preparation of what is to come. I am She, and she is Me." The female approached the bewildered reaper and swept his long bangs aside. "Never hide your eyes from Me. I despise liars." Delicate fingers traversed the angle of his jaw as a hungry, sadistic light flashed over the soft glow of her split irises. "So very beautiful," she whispered to the enraptured reaper. A blank expression suddenly dominated her delicate features as though she was engaged in warfare with another consciousness for the return of a memory that was rightfully hers. Her dulled eyes lit up in sudden recognition when the memory returned. "'Lovely' is what you called she," the reborn creature stated rather than asked.

"Yes," the mortician softly confirmed.

"Why?"

"Because _you_ -"

"Me?" the lavender beauty interrupted. "But, it was she whom you referred to as 'Lovely'."

"Are you not 'she'?" he reminded the reborn being.

The petite closed her eyes, and with her index and middle fingers placed squarely in the middle of the legend's forehead, she linked her mind with his. "I am She, and she is Me," she spoke lowly, almost rhythmically.

~Therefore, to you I am lovely, and that's why I am 'Lovely'. Her name was Stella. My name is Ineffable. You are Legendary Death, the Created One, and your name is Adrian Crevan. You belong to she, and she to you...We are One?~

The female opened her eyes as she removed her fingers from the reaper's forehead. "Love...you...she loved you. Then, I-I love you," the Conduit slowly mumbled with averted eyes. She felt her head being lifted up to meet acidic green reaper's eyes. " _I_ love you," she stated emphatically, pointing to herself.

"As I love you," the silver reaper meaningfully replied as he warmly embraced the petite, affectionately nuzzling his head atop hers.

The fair haired couple stood, wrapped in each other's arms for an unspecified amount of time until the petite reminded her silver love that her time of cleansing was at hand. With a sweet kiss, he reluctantly let her go. He watched in fascination as she vanished like a phantom to their shared bathroom. A wave of sadness and nostalgia washed over him when the sound of running water filling the claw footed tub entered his auditory senses. More than anything, he wanted to craft her long, lavender locks into beautiful works of art all his own; from concept to finished product. He sighed, knowing full well he must obey her decree and proceeded with tending to his guest's various needs while he waited for her return.

*I wonder what she meant by 'shedding skin'?*

xxxxxx

The Conduit submerged herself in scalding hot water without the need to breathe. The thin membrane of her inner eyelids provided the only means of protection from the excessive heat as she stared blankly at the ceiling. The war in her head continued as memories preserved in a consciousness not her own cryptically bubbled to the surface. She languidly moved her arms overhead as she recalled the struck Hour leading to her Rebirth. A tiny smile flitted across her lips as she thought of how the movements of her arms vaguely resembled the dances of her people from a time lost to history.

~The Prophecy must be fulfilled.~

The random patterns on the Conduit's arms gained clarity as they developed into scenes of warfare and all that is sacred to her. Red and black Birds of the Eye flying high in a blood red sky lit by dual suns kept watch over the temple city where Rarities tended to a marvelous representation of her as a voluptuous woman with the head of a wolf. Child Rarities played with the sacred animals; fearsome beasts that resembled a cross between a jackal and a wolf with primitive teeth like serrated blades filling their mouths. Within the empty spaces of flesh, the sacred flower made its home.

~Vengeance will be Mine.~

She waved her right arm in front of her face, observing scenes of war unfolding before her omnidirectional eyes. Divine Fire consumed winged creatures from another place, and their foul corpses were torn asunder by the sacred animals. Those who managed to breach the gates to the temple city wreaked havoc upon its inhabitants. Blood spilled from the throats of the Transcendentals, and the infants of that subset of her race had their tiny heads dashed into the rocks. Not one was left alive, and none would be born again; it was a genocide of the rarest of the Rarities. On that day, the temple walls were torn down by the foul creatures, and in retribution, a vulgar display of power was shown to the genocidal host; a power that drove her people into exile within their own temple city. Under a low slung silver moon, in a dark sky dotted with bright stars, a celebration was held to honor the rebuilding of the temple. A bittersweet feast of fire and blood was held in the name of the Goddess as war hymns and angry, drumming beats of sacred feet danced upon the corpses of their enemies. And, if one looked hard enough through the gaps in the skin, Death could be seen lurking within the emptiness.

~Formless One, it is time to put you to rest. You have been redeemed in My eyes for doing well as the caretaker of she.~

=I am You. You are me. We are One. Conduit, vows will be broken, bonds will be severed, and no longer will we be One with Legendary Death.=

The petite moved her freshly tattooed hand to that certain spot on her neck, just above her collarbone. Smooth flesh greeted her fingertip instead of the familiar indention that was the reaper's claim on her. Unknown tears mixed with the hot water she was submerged in.

~Claims have to be relinquished. The Prophecy _must_ be fulfilled. I _will_ know what you know.~

=As you wish, Conduit. One.=

~One.~

=We are One.=

~We are One.~

=I preserve the pretty memories they made You forget. I am the repository of Your vengeance. Through my eyes, You will see familiar strangers, and when You awaken, they will no longer be strange to You once You encounter them.=

Selected images invaded the petite's mind as the Ikiryo revealed its long withheld secrets to her. She grew more confident in who she was at present in relation to the silver haired legend making a corpse beautiful in the shop below. When she saw a particular familiar stranger whom she knew she should remember, but couldn't, her body trembled from the rebellious tears she shed. The sacred woman knew there was great significance to this person or else she wouldn't have had such an emotional reaction.

=You saw _him_ again, didn't you, Conduit?=

~The Eyes of Divine Fire have a sacred meaning in My faith. It is rare for a male to possess them, yet I do not remember _him_ , the possessor of the Eyes of Divine Fire. Is he someone who is of great significance to she? It makes My heart ache to see the depths of his anguish, Formless One.~

=I believe we both know the answer, but it is You who must confront the lost memories I've released to You. I am incorporeal. I have spent many years trapped within an Unwilling Host, then within You as mortal, and now I have the privilege of residing within the Ineffable, Herself. Because of this, I have limitations.=

~Understood. Once I familiarize Myself with the strangers, I shall release you into My Divine Light.~

=On that day, we shall make a covenant so that You will always remember One.=

~That day will come soon, Formless One.~

=I have absolute faith in You, Conduit.=

~Formless One, I am grateful for your faith in Me. One.~

=One.=

~We are One.~

=We are One. She is me.=

The Conduit slowly rose from the claw footed tub. Lavender hair clung to pale, blemish free flesh as she carefully walked to the vanity table. The scars of her violent past disappeared, including the frozen _Danse Macabre_ tattoo from the eugenics program. The Death Watch on her back had disappeared. Instead, scenes of war and peace on her destroyed homeworld covered both of her arms; from her shoulders all the way down to her fingertips. The naked woman stood, staring, transfixed by her own reflection as she tentatively brushed her tattooed fingers between her legs, feeling nothing but smooth skin instead of the remnants of violent violation. Her hand traveled upward still, to her hidden place, delicate fingers sneaking inside as she continued staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes lit up like solar flares in her act of narcissistic autoeroticism. She pulled her own hair, unlocking her own secret places without the aid of a lover. She indulged in herself as she had never been able to before in her past and found it very enjoyable, however, it was by no means a replacement for the affection she thrived on. She tasted herself when she reached completion and memories of Mae returned to her.

~Mae, how corrupted you were, but it was for she. You never betrayed your Sisters, even though you liked to be objectified. We each have our tastes. My love, Mae, you shall be the first I avenge, just as she promised on the day you died.~

The petite touched the mirror, wondering if she could join hands with her reflection on the other side. "I am She."

xxxxxx

The petite emerged from the bathroom and found the reaper asleep in their shared bed. She smiled to herself as she silently approached the slumbering man, intent on brushing a fingertip over his long, silver eyelashes. Before she could carry out her intentions, his acidic eyes flashed open.

"Hello, Lovely," the reaper greeted.

"You ass! I wanted to touch your pretty lashes," the female pouted, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned her head away from him. She flinched when a black nail clawed at her neck a bit too roughly. She knew he was angry, but most of all, confused about the erasure of his claim upon her. She knew he was quizzing her about the claim's sudden disappearance. She knew he was harshly demanding an immediate response, but she couldn't bring herself to give him a clear explanation; at least not yet. Instead, she hid the silent tears jumping to their deaths from the possessive reaper. He was aware of the Prophecy, but...

~Why must he let his possessive nature cloud his judgement? It will do nothing but tear us apart. His nature will also interfere with My mission.~

The Conduit's anger was beginning to burn from deep within and attempt to meld with her sadness at the sudden change in the silver reaper's attitude. She needed to find peace before she did what came naturally to her. In the blink of an eye, the volatile woman vanished to a destination known only to her for the express purpose of allowing her emotions to flow freely from omnidirectional eyes.

xxxxxx

In another place, a man consumed by anguish was preparing for his rise to power when a familiar, heartwrenching feeling overwhelmed him like a horde of demons. High contrast eyes allowed suicidal tears to plummet to their deaths as the old, familiar feeling sunk its cruel claws deeper into his heart.

"It can't be," he murmured in disbelief. "It just can't be. I saw what happened with my own eyes...I am not...This isn't happening..." Slender fingers absently wandered up to a certain painful treasure, familiarizing themselves with the cold, curved, metal surface as they always do when he thinks of _her_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, you've read parts 1 and 4 for context. It'll help you as the story progresses.


	2. Orders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella/Conduit's innermost thoughts ~  
> Undertaker's innermost thoughts*
> 
> Hi, thanks for the reads. I trust you're enjoying this hot little number.  
> *My* favorite male OC makes his return in far greater significance along with the cameo male OC from chapter 20 in Unnecessary Object. The cameo female OC from chapter 23 in Unnecessary Shadows also makes her return in greater significance as well.  
> We also get to take a peek into Undertaker's true possessive nature as well as see just how much of an addict for affection my female OC is turning out to be. Daytime TV drama, anyone? HAHAHA!  
> I also bring you the gift of sexytime! Yes!!!

The sound of squeaking door hinges and footsteps descending old, wooden stairs awakened the sleeping petite. She stirred in her place on the cold, concrete floor, too tired to face the other presence in the room. She softly sighed and curled in on herself, partially because she was cold, but mostly because she knew _he_ was still angry and confused about the relinquished claim. There was no way his anger relented that easily, especially because he was the most possessive out of all of his people. The small, scantily clad woman curled into a fetal position and pretended the man of unnecessary shadows wasn't watching her sleep as he stood over her. She knew that beneath the forced expression of adoration on his face, fierce anger and raw jealousy lurked just below the surface, waiting for an opportunity to make a full breach and attempt to recapture her like a shark hunting seal.

"Good morning, Lovely," the mortician sweetly greeted. "I thought I might find you here."

"Morning?" the lavender haired woman rasped, throat dry from sleeping in the cold darkness of the basement.

"Yes, it's been three days, Lovely." He sat next to the exotic woman and helped her into a sitting position. Upon seeing the dimness of her eyes, he knew she had been crying.

*And I was the cause of it. Never have I made her cry until now.*

"Oh, Lovely, I'm sorry for upsetting you so," the reaper said apologetically. "You know it breaks my heart to see you cry."

The Conduit allowed herself to be comforted by the reaper turned mortician. "That's why I didn't let you see. I needed peace." She peered up at the legend with large, lupine eyes full of heterocromatic madness. "Are you still angry with She?" Her delicate, tattooed hand traveled to his favorite spot on her neck that was now free of its mark. She hesitantly reached up and swept the shaggy veil of silver away from her lover's acidic eyes, instantly regretting her decision when she beheld the possessive fury betraying the smile on his face. "Adrian, I..." she trailed off, unable to properly express herself to the reaper.

The legendary reaper waited patiently for the resurrected woman to compose herself. He wanted an explanation-a damn good explanation-out of her, but he wasn't going to pressure her at the risk of losing her for good. He cautiously drew her into a warm embrace. "It's ok, Stella," he cooed. "I had not meant to upset you. I just don't fully understand. I'm sorry, I'm a bit...displeased. It's as I've always said, I'm a _very_ possessive man. If anything, I'm more bewildered than displeased.-

*I'm a horrible liar.*

-I promised you that I would never hurt you; that I'd always love and protect you, and never leave you no matter what. I swore to never punish you. I made it my priority to provide you with anything you need, give you anything you want, and do anything you wish. I vowed that if I ever lost you for _any_ reason, I would find you and bring you back; that I'd never sever from you." He lifted the female's head up with a single finger tipped by a long, black nail. "Have I ever gone back on my word?" he asked in soft, deadly seriousness.

Omnidirectional lights wavered in the darkness as the Conduit gazed at the silver reaper's legendary hunter's eyes.

~Someday soon, I will unlock the fortress of your mind. I will taste your secrets.~

"Your beautiful eyes never lie, My silver love. You have never lied to she or punished she, therefore, you have not wronged Me," she answered, each word deliberately dripping from a vengeful mouth. "You wish to understand how it came to pass; why the mark is gone?"

"Yes."

"Words are untranslatable from My language to yours, nor can they be expressed in the language of humans. Instead, I will show you the outcome of My new 'Rite of Passage'; My Rebirth." The divine creature stripped off the scant amount of clothing she was wearing and stood in her full naked glory before Legendary Death. Her pale skin seemed to glow with its own inner fire in contrast to the darkness of the surrounding environment. She reached down and grabbed the awestruck male's hand. "Feel," she ordered, placing his cold hand on the smooth skin of her inner thigh.

"They're gone!" the amazed mortician gasped. He slowly slid his fingers over the sensitive skin on her other thigh and felt smooth, unblemished flesh there as well. Her soft, pleasured purr did not go unnoticed as his hand crept closer to her hidden place, however, since this was a creature to be revered as a Supreme Being, he kept himself in check. "Are all the scars from the experiments gone as well, Lovely?"

"My flesh no longer bears blemishes from her past. All markings and every scar have been erased. The skin of she-of what was-has been shed for Me-of what is to come. My flesh is that which bleeds when cut, but feels no pain and cannot scar. My flesh burns, but remains pure and undamaged. My flesh flayed, grows back again in an instant. My bones snap in snares, yet I feel nothing but euphoria when I eat My way into freedom; whole again without pain. Dismembered, I reassemble as One with no trace. Impaled by your implements of Death, I cannot die. I am She who cannot be possessed." Split irises flashed with Divine Fire as she spoke the eerily prophetic words.

*She who cannot be possessed?*

"I am She of Flameless Fire. Can one possess fire, Adrian?"

The reaper softly smiled at the reincarnated woman as he gently pulled her onto his lap. "I suppose, but that won't stop me from loving you."

The strange eyed beauty raked her fingers through silver silk and purred softly as long, black nails grazed the bare flesh of her back. "Nor, I you, My silver love," she responded in a soft, sultry voice laced with just a hint of sadism. Her hypnotic eyes flashed as she beheld Legendary Death getting lost in their strange lights. Gone was the possessive, jealous rage from his acidic eyes, and in its place, the familiar hunger and lust she craved from him. She relished in making him silently beg for her with his electric eyes. Then, for some unknown reason, a microscopic instant of a ghost of a memory of a forgotten part of her past with a familiar stranger flashed before her glowing eyes for half a nanosecond.

_Don't tease me like this._

~A begging sadist?~

The Conduit's smile momentarily faltered as she recalled recent events just prior to her rebirth. Before she allowed herself to dwell in the past, she gave in to her lover's pleading eyes and granted him the fiery kiss she knew he craved. The starving goddess' eyes lit up as her delicate hands traveled down to the complicated array of fastenings on the skintight, leather pants that was a staple of her lover's wardrobe. She paid no mind to his protests as she swiftly tore apart his favorite article of clothing, nor did she care about his chastising her when she ripped the remainder of his ensemble to shreds for the sole purpose of her indulgence in him.

Being the glutton that he is, he played right into her hands, melting into this new, unexpected dominance she asserted over him. He caressed her inner thighs as she rode him like a vicious, wild animal. She snapped her head forward, lavender strands partially obscuring her delicate features, and grabbed his hands. "Did I-"

"Touch me more, Adrian." The affection starved goddess' words came out a commanding growl. 

The legend happily obliged, taking the opportunity to touch his lover in all the places he desired but was always denied access to in her previous life, especially the places that were once marred by violence and masterfully hidden from him for a majority of the time throughout their relationship. This new side to her was more erotic than he was accustomed to. As he touched her, she touched herself; something he'd never seen her do before. The way she moved was a vicious dance belonging solely to her. His phosphorescent eyes followed her hands as they familiarized themselves with her breasts, then slowly drifted down to that certain bundle of nerves. The mortician was mesmerized by the female unlocking her own secret places even though he was still inside her. She whipped her head back, lavender locks, a dangerous arc slicing the air overhead as she brought herself to climax. The usually dominant reaper grabbed onto her hips, keeping her from dismounting him. "I want more of _that_ , Lovely," he purred darkly.

The Conduit's eyes became bewitching flames as she gazed down at the legend. "Challenge accepted." On her terms, she moved like the fabled ether of Creation and Destruction. Her intense, heterocromatic light outshone the sun as the legendary reaper dug his long nails into her soft skin. She arched her back at that certain angle that let her indulge in that certain piercing while simultaneously bringing the piercing's owner closer to completion. She gradually moved faster, taking him in deeper, touching herself as he watched. Sweaty lavender stuck to a flushed, far from worn out body as the strange eyed woman used the reaper as an aid to unlock her secret places.

"Oh, gods," Legendary Death groaned. "I don't think..." The distinctive whimper he hated made itself audible to the savage goddess, signaling that he was close, thus he had to be closer to _her_. 

"Already, Adrian?" the petite taunted.

"Fuck you," he managed to quip through strained pants.

The deactivated weapon pulled the reaper up by his scarred throat and wrapped her limbs around him. "You know I love you," she whispered as seductively as she moved astride the legend.

"I know," he replied, digging long fingers tipped by ebony talons into a sea of lavender. "And, I love you as well."

In an unexpected role reversal, it was the silver haired man who lost himself in the pleasurable pain of the Conduit's sharp teeth sinking into the skin on his neck, just below his right ear; the same place he used to tease her in her past life. For a split second, he saw a peek into her inner world; a world ruled by rituals and desire.

*What just happened here?*

xxxxxx

A soft knock on the Councilman's office door, followed by a feminine voice announcing its existence went momentarily ignored until the familiar razor blade voice bade it entry. The female reaper obediently walked in, red curls bouncing as she swung her shapely hips. She blushed as she always does when the gray haired reaper looks at her through his rectangular, rimless glasses.

"Paige," he greeted.

"Good evening, sir," the red haired woman began. "Adam White is here as you requested. I have completed today's paperwork, and I have also finished organizing the main office. I can begin updating the computer software on my own. I can do that tomorrow, or would you like me to begin tonight?"

The gray reaper waved his hand dismissively at the secretary. "There is no need for you to work overtime. You've outdone yourself today. Frankly, I'm amazed that you decided to apply to be my secretary when I transferred to the Council. You knew I'd pick you, didn't you?" The petite reaper nodded. "It was more out of convenience than anything else, although I'm well aware of your superior capabilities. Show White in, then you may go home. I'll check over your paperwork before I leave."

"Sir-"

"Paige, just because I'm on the Council does not change my distaste for formalities. Please, call me Hesse," the Councilman requested.

"Alright. It just feels weird because you're my boss..." she trailed off, looking down at the shiny, red pumps still not doing much by making her any closer to average height.

"To not address me as 'sir'?" She nodded. "I'm not like other reapers. I don't need to have my ego stroked with empty words and trite formalities. Will there be anything else?"

"If you'll excuse my boldness, Hesse." She paused, taking a deep breath as a deep red blush stained her pale skin. "You look absolutely gorgeous with long hair. How did you get it to grow so fast?" she gushed in curious wonder.

The shadow propped a boot up on his desk. "I released it from _her_ headpiece the day _she_ died," he softly mused as he toyed with the chains wrapped around the knee high, leather boot. He removed it from the desk and waved off his secretary's impending words of sympathy. "Show White in and go home. You did well today."

A few moments later, a familiar male voice announced its presence from the open door. The lost shadow fixed his harsh glare on his subordinate. "Why have you been lurking in the office at this hour lately, Adam?"

"I've got reapings tonight. I'm still covering for the rogue until the next set of recruits graduate," the other answered matter-of-factly. "So, what does the Council want with a lowly manager, such as myself?"

The self deprecating remark earned a rare chuckle from the gray haired man. "These are suspension orders for Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, and William T. Spears. I'm leaving it in your hands. You will also be acting Dispatch manager in Spears' place while he is under suspension." The Councilman slid the orders across the desk for his subordinate to review. "You have no need to worry about your post. I have someone capable and trustworthy lined up to act in your place while you are heading Spears' position."

"Yeah," the other absently replied. "You know, I heard a rumor that Paige only followed you here because she has the hots for you."

The shadow glared at the blond across from him. "I'm well aware of that rumor," he snapped. "You should also be well aware that Paige is an outspoken female; something of a rarity for our race, especially amongst the younger generations. She more than likely decided to follow me here because I don't treat her like a piece of meat. I've heard about how her former bosses treated her, Adam, so the rumors surrounding her being an 'office slut' are groundless. She is incredibly beautiful, and I could easily take her if I wanted to, but I have no interest in her and she knows it. I hired her for her current position out of convenience and her superior abilities, so I highly suggest you treat her with the respect she deserves."

The chastised man mumbled an apology to his boss as he slid one of the orders back to him. "Spears is the same rank as me," he pointed out, pushing clear framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. He tucked a stray blond tendril behind his ear as he eyed his increasingly agitated superior. "Are you sure this is legal? It could be perceived as a conflict of interest."

The Gray Shadow slammed the order down in front of his subordinate. "This is legal, Adam. Both of you are equal in rank, but are in charge of different departments that do not intersect with each other, therefore, no conflict of interest exists."

"When do you want this done?" the shadow's shadow inquired as he collected the suspension order for the tyrannical Dispatch manager.

"Ronald Knox was discharged from the infirmary a few hours ago. With that being said, tomorrow morning at 9 AM, sharp. You have until 10:30 AM to carry out the suspensions and report back to me. Prior to that, be sure all paperwork is completed in relation to your reapings tonight," the Councilman ordered.

"Got it, Hesse. Any specific location?"

A sadistic grin spread over the Gray Shadow's lips. "William T. Spears' office. The summons have already been delivered to the appropriate parties."

"Spears is going to be so fucking pissed," the vicious reaper snickered.

"That was my intention," the shadow replied with an ever widening sadistic grin.

"You are a first class sadist, Hesse."

"That, I am." The gray reaper's tone suddenly grew deadly serious. "You have your orders, White. Carry them out to the letter and report back to me on time with your results, especially with Spears. Also, do not address Miss Sutcliff with masculine pronouns or as 'Mr. Sutcliff'. She has her reasons, as do I, which will be kept confidential. Do I make myself clear?"

Two pairs of hard glares locked onto each other. "Perfectly, Hesse."

xxxxxx

Familiar locks of lavender dancing with the wind caught a certain blond reaper's eye on the way to his next job. He stopped where he was on the rooftop of a random flat across from the mortuary and observed the lone figure standing on its roof as though it was waiting for somebody. The wind blew the figure's lavender hair back, revealing a familiar feminine profile. The blond's bright green and yellow eyes widened in total disbelief behind clear framed glasses. "It can't be," he murmured. "Hesse told me she killed herself. I wonder if Crevan found a way to bring her back to life?" The reaper's self musings ceased when he realized the figure was no longer in sight. An icy chill slid down his spine when he felt a terrifyingly arousing presence materialize behind him.

"Why are you watching She?" a soft, malignant voice demanded.

The blond slowly turned around, taking care to banish his Death Scythe as he did. "Stella, is that you? I heard that you-"

The Conduit cut the reaper off mid sentence with her next demand. "How do you know she? I am She, and she is Me. How do you know Me? I do not know you, yet you look familiar." The petite approached the intimidated man, scrutinizing him with curious, omnidirectional jewels resting in black satin. "Your hair is beautiful, reaper. Why must you keep it in that ridiculous, low ponytail?"

The male shivered as her delicate fingers unbound his hair. "You said that to me that day in May...the day you spared my life because, to me, you're a woman, not an object."

The Conduit's curious glow softened as she beheld the array of emotions displayed in the reaper's eyes. "I frighten you," she observed. "Tell me your name."

"Adam White," he answered as evenly as possible. "Honestly, you still scare the shit out of me." He hesitantly reached out, stopping short of touching the woman's face. "You're more beautiful now than when we first met, especially those strange eyes of yours."

"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked in the soft, airy voice he was familiar with.

"You asked me the same thing that day in May," he replied equally as softly.

The lavender personification of Divine Wrath looked thoughtful for a few moments. "You know she," she murmured. Split blue and green became intense, burning flames as they locked onto vicious, bright green and yellow double irises. Her tattooed arm darted out and two delicate fingers planted themselves firmly in the center of the reaper's forehead.

~I am She, and she is Me. _I_ must know _you_ who knew she.~

The fearsome, captivating flames in the petite's eyes held the psychotic blond in place when he wanted to flee. Involuntary tears trickled down his face from the burning pain invading his psyche. As the pain reached its peak, he began to wonder if the one sifting through his mind was really fire in the form of a woman. Then, as quickly as the pain started, it stopped.

"I thought you died," the Security manager finally whispered.

"Yes, she did, but _I_ am alive. I am the Conduit. I am the Goddess made flesh." The lavender haired woman cupped the blond's face in her hands. "I'm sorry she didn't remember you, Adam. I thank you for remembering she, and she is Me. You remembered Me."

"I told you I'd always remember you, Stella... Or do you have a different name now?"

"My name is Ineffable, but you may call She Stella." The female's eyes glazed over with empathetic tears threatening to spill. "You have been in love with she since that day in May. Your reason is an unknown secret, even to you, so you keep it locked deep within you. Regardless of your reason, I cannot return your feelings, but I can give you the love of a friend in the way of My people."

"I figured as much. Besides, you belong to Crevan." The reaper embraced the petite without regard to the consequences. "Aw, don't cry. I'm sorry about what happened."

"It wasn't your fault. I know of your weakness for the innocent. I know you did your best within your limited power to protect she, so do not despair anymore." The strange eyed goddess peered up at the vicious reaper with drying eyes. "Never wear your hair in that ridiculous, low ponytail again. It is an injustice to your vicious eyes," she playfully chided. On impulse, she kissed the Security manager with unforgettable, breathtaking passion. As his arms coiled around her, thoughts of another entered her memory for just a mere split second before vanishing again.

~Love between reapers...all of whom are captivated by the one who possesses the Eyes of Divine Fire.~

"What was that for?" he asked breathlessly as she pulled away.

"To remind you that I am She who cannot be possessed. No one orders Me. My Word is Absolute, and I shall do as I please." She cupped the blond's face in her hands. "I belong to Myself. Do you understand?" 

"Yeah, I'm not sure if-"

"Adam, I'm curious about the metal in your mouth. I wonder if you can unlock My secret places with it? Maybe I'll give Adrian one or two just like yours," she said in a seductively malignant voice that sent shivers rushing up and down the male's spine. She pulled him in for another kiss equally as passionate as the last. "Never remove it, Adam. One day, I'll come to you to satisfy My curiosity if Adrian refuses My offering," she ordered as she embraced him once more.

"Alright. I never planned on removing it anyway." The reaper softly smiled at the Conduit. "I'm glad you're alive again, and I'm sure Crevan is, too."

"He is." The petite returned the reaper's soft smile. "I'm glad you remembered," she replied, her voice an echo in his ears as he watched her disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get one thing straight, by human standards, my female OC and her people would be considered promiscuous at best, and outright sluts at worst. In her nonhuman culture, affection/sexual contact is something they thrive on. Without it, they go insane from "starvation". For Rarities, it leads to that and sometimes, suicide or worse. Thus, my OC's "nymphomania" is not only an article of faith, it is also a survival mechanism of her people, and necessary for what passes for her sanity.


	3. Suspension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> William T. Spears' innermost thoughts #
> 
> Hi! Thanks for reading and sorry for the slow update. At least you got a steamy one shot as a consolation. Well now, we're moving in a slightly different direction. Let's see what's happening in the reaper's realm, shall we?  
> More fun character insight. Grell is only referred to in masculine pronouns because...well, it's William T. Spears doing the referring. We all know what a lovely lady she is. Also, there's a rape threat and suicide is mentioned. ***You have been warned.***  
> Enjoy.

Three reapers silently walked down the corridor of their respective department. All of the debris and dismembered body parts had been disposed of, the blood stains had all but disappeared, and all the corpses had been removed. In short, the building housing Dispatch was well underway to being restored to its former glory. As for the library's condition, none of the three Dispatch agents knew. It was almost 9 AM and they had an important meeting to attend. All three reapers knew what it was about. All three had bad feelings about it, but one in particular had an even worse than bad feeling-rage inducing, to be exact.

"I wonder what happened to Emily and Stella?" the reaper in red whispered to her new boyfriend.

"I don't know, Grell," he whispered back.

The sound of metal on metal clicking, followed by a clearing throat silenced the whispering reapers. "If you two irritants must know, both of those abominable creatures committed suicide," the emotionless reaper informed while continuing his brisk march to his office.

"What!" the redhead exclaimed. She scurried down the hallway to catch up to her boss. "Don't you _dare_ lie to me, William. I've had enough of your bullshit."

The Dispatch manager pushed past the red reaper. "I am not lying, Sutcliff. Both of those freaks are dead."

"Where are the bodies, Spears-senpai?" the trainee quizzed.

"I don't know where the albino's body is. Undertaker took off with that abomination's corpse to do who knows what with it," the irate reaper sneered.

"William, how could you say something like _that_ about Unnie!" Red Death gasped. "You know he would never do-"

"I highly suggest we drop the subject now that we're at my office," he harshly interrupted the red reaper, giving her and the younger reaper his trademark glare before turning around to unlock his office door. The stoic reaper's rich, golden green eyes widened, then quickly narrowed when he discovered his office door was already unlocked. His gloves made that horrid creaking noise as he balled up his fists in a desperate effort to contain his boiling rage. "What is the meaning of this?" he muttered under his breath.

#I was led to believe someone would be arriving _after_ myself and these idiots.#

"William, we're going to be late if we don't go into your office," the redhead reminded her superior.

The stone faced manager shrugged off the red tipped finger tapping his shoulder. "I am perfectly well aware of that, Mr. Sutcliff," he snapped. Taking a deep breath to calm his rising anger, the Dispatch manager finally entered his office, followed by his subordinates. His eyebrow twitched and his jaw clenched tightly when the reason for his office being unlocked was sitting in _his_ chair with an all too friendly smile on his face and vicious eyes that betrayed it.

#So, Hesse let his dog off of his leash and the son of a bitch is sitting in _my_ chair in _my_ office. Honestly!#

"Good morning," the blond with the fake smile greeted. "My name is Adam White. I manage the Elite Security section. In military parlance, I suppose that makes me a captain, but you wouldn't know anything about that or my specific department, nor do you need to know." The reaper narrowed his eyes at the Dispatch manager. "I'm already acquainted with _you_ , Mr. Spears." He turned his attention back to the remaining reapers and glanced at the orders for quick reference. "I've heard of you," he said to the red reaper. "Grell Sutcliff, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," she respectfully replied.

"You were sentenced to field work involving 'weapons testing' during the eugenics program due to crimes committed in the mortal realm. You were also released early for 'good behavior' and 'significant improvement'," the Security manager continued. "It seems the punishment did you some good. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Sutcliff?"

"Yes, sir."

The reaper ran a hand through his long, blond hair and glanced at the last order. "You're Ronald Knox, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," the younger reaper replied without his usual casual attitude.

"I do not know you. Nevertheless, both you and Spears have clean disciplinary records." The fake smile disappeared from the blond reaper's face in exchange for an intimidating expression befitting of his vicious, bright green and yellow eyes. "Now that we are all acquainted with each other, you will either address me as 'Mr. White' or 'sir'. I am not my superior. I have not, nor have I ever wanted to work in this department, however, I am well aware of its protocol. In the military, we have a much higher demand for respect of one's superiors. We may be technically equal in rank, Mr. Spears, but you are on the other side of the desk, so I will require the same respect out of you that I require from your subordinates. I do not need to explain why all of you are here. If you read your summons, the explanation should be self evident. Mr. Spears, I will be handling you separately from your subordinates. With that being said, you will be first."

The stoic reaper adjusted his steel framed glasses. "Sir, not only is this inefficient, it also reeks of conflict of interest," he protested.

"Oh, is that so, Mr. Spears? I believe that you're wrong. You see, these orders are directly from the Council. How else did you think _I_ could legally gain access to _your_ records?" he shot back. "It is in the interest of fairness that I am giving you the terms of your suspension separately, and quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing you bitch. Do I make myself clear?" he demanded of all the reapers. Affirmative answers prompted the Security manager's next command. "Mr. Spears, you remain in here with me. Mr. Knox, Miss Sutcliff, wait outside the office. Mr. Spears will summon both of you when I'm finished with him."

xxxxxx

Two equally ranked managers of two separate departments that rarely, if ever, crossed paths, sat in stone, cold silence. The stoic male noticed a certain madness lurking within the blond's vicious eyes; the kind only the ancients possess.

#I knew Hesse's dog was a psycho, but I didn't count on him being one of those damn fossils.#

"Nothing to say for yourself, Spears?" the blond smugly questioned.

"I carried out my orders, sir," the black haired manager icily defended. "Therefore, I fail to understand why I'm being suspended."

The other manager leaned forward and folded his hands on the solid, oak desk. "Oh, is that how it is? I don't suppose those orders included impaling your subordinate, did they? 'Mmm...the sickening sound of bone cracking...' Was that in your field report?"

"No, sir, but I'm not the only one guilty of assaulting another coworker. The cut on my face, courtesy of Mr. Sutcliff's chainsaw, is proof of that," the Dispatch manager insistently pointed out.

Vicious rage flashed over the blond's eyes as he rose from the chair. "Mr. Spears, what _Miss_ Sutcliff did is not the issue," he shouted, slamming both hands down hard on the desk. " _You_ are a manager, and as such, should lead by example. _You_ know better than to assault coworkers out of useless anger." He reseated himself, adjusting clear framed glasses as he reviewed the stoic reaper's suspension order. "Let's get this over with. William T. Spears, you are hereby suspended _without_ pay due to 'unjustifiable assault with a Death Scythe on a subordinate resulting in hospitalization'. Due to the sensitive circumstances regarding this case, termination is not an option at this time. Your suspension begins immediately pending a disciplinary hearing before the Council at a date which has yet to be determined. Turn in your Death Scythe and all Dispatch property to General Affairs." The blond closed the file folder and scowled at the pruner wielder. "You are aware of suspension procedures. You have two minutes to get your shit and follow my men to General Affairs," he harshly ordered while placing one of three boxes prepared for the occasion on the solid, oak desk.

The suspended Dispatch manager hastily packed his personal belongings in reluctant, bitter silence. "Excuse me, sir," the stoic reaper bit out through grit teeth, eyebrow twitching with rage threatening to boil over at the blond blocking his exit.

Instead of moving aside, the vicious ancient accosted the other from behind. A wicked grin made a comfortable home on his face when the emotionless reaper stood frozen in his tight grasp. "You don't remember what I am, do you? I'm a Shadow's shadow; _his_ eyes and ears. To you, I'm just _his_ 'dog', aren't I? That may be true, in a sense, but I am more than that. Do you remember your history lessons at the Academy, Spears? If _he_ is the Gray Shadow, what does that make me? I am Vicious Nothing. Do you remember that day in May, Spears?" the blond whispered darkly, tracing the other's clenched jaw with a cobalt tipped finger. "I remember it well. Think about it and what I am. Remember your history, Spears. You never even knew I existed, but I already knew _everything_ about you."

"That's because you're Hesse's dog," the irate reaper spat.

"Is that so?" The blond peeked over the other's shoulder. "It seems that you like being held by me. You know, all of us knew how you really felt-how you still feel-about Crevan. Even he knew, although it sickened him-literally sickened him-to admit it." The psychotic blond's hand slowly traveled downward to the enraged reaper's involuntary arousal. "I wonder if being in the bitch role is what turns you on? Is it because Crevan is such a dominant man? Are you fantasizing that I am him, or that you want him and I to fuck you at the same time? I wonder if you're just a hard up piece of shit that can't get a _willing_ partner?" The embarrassed reaper blushed a furious shade of red and shivered as the long haired manager slowly slid his metal adorned tongue up the side of his neck. The combination of the sensation of metal on skin and an unpredictable hand on his privates made the suspended manager release in his pants. The snickering blond behind him further humiliated him with his next choice of words. "Just a lick on the neck is all it takes, Spears? Virgins can hold out longer than that! Or perhaps, you like to get scared until you lose yourself in your own desire. Yes, I think I hit the nail on the head. Oh well, it saves me the trouble of raping you." Within seconds, he was looming over the humiliated reaper. "I _know_ everything you did to _her_ , and I hope that _she_ returns for you and has _her_ revenge. I sincerely hope it's more sadistic and grotesque than what she did to those pieces of shit who tried to kill _her_ that day in May."

"Weren't they under your command?"

"Don't make me laugh! I don't manage such a pitiful security department. I never have. I tried to stop them, you idiot."

#That's right. He and Gaines reported to Hesse.#

"Get out and bring me Sutcliff and Knox," the vicious ancient ordered.

"Mr. White, I'd like to point out that your actions are completely improper," the irate reaper coldly protested.

"Really?" The psychotic blond quirked a thin, barely visible eyebrow.

"Who is your direct superior, Mr. White? I wish to lodge a formal complaint against you," the cold reaper demanded.

A knowing grin curled around the corners of the blond's mouth. "You should already be well aware of that. Woofles, Spears. Where _he_ goes, I follow, forever devoted to _him_ ; a shadow of the Shadow."

#So, he really is Hesse's dog after all. How pathetic.#

"I understand. Good day, Mr. White," the humiliated man grumbled.

"Oh, Mr. Spears, do forgive my rash behavior. You do know what they say about us as we age," the Security manager said with a sickly sweet grin.

xxxxxx

The ancient blond reviewed the remaining reapers' paperwork as they quietly sat across from him, anxiously awaiting their fates. The redhead was especially anxious about hers since this occurrence would make her a repeat offender, and therefore, a severe penalty would likely be in order.

"Miss Sutcliff, Mr. Knox," the blond announced.

Both reapers straightened up in their chairs. "Yes, sir," they responded in unison.

"Calm down, I'm not going to kill you," the older reaper reassured the others while trying to stifle a laugh. "I'll be brief with both of you since your excuse for a boss took up too much of my time. I have to report to my superior with your completed paperwork at 10:30 AM sharp." He pointed to the clock on the wall, reading 9:45. "I have forty-five minutes left. It's a good thing I'm military and that I've been doing this for centuries or I wouldn't be so efficient at dealing with annoying pests. Now, let's get to the point. Both of you are suspended _with_ pay pending a disciplinary hearing where both of you will be serving as witnesses against Mr. Spears, however, in the interest of fairness, your actions will not go unquestioned by the Council. Please be prepared for any questioning regarding the case you were both assigned in addition to the fight in the library. The hearing date has not been determined yet. Both of you, as well as Mr. Spears, will receive notice when a definitive date has been determined."

The short haired reaper spoke first. "With pay, sir?"

"Yes." The manager glanced at the paperwork. "Self defense in your case, Mr. Knox." He looked at the red reaper with a knowing glint in his bright green and yellow eyes. "And in your case, Miss Sutcliff, rendering aid to a fallen comrade kept you from getting fired. Additionally, and it deeply pains myself and my superior to say this, but the terminology must remain legal, 'protection of stolen property' is the reason why your attack on Spears is considered self defense, albeit unorthodox and sadistic," the blond reaper concluded.

The redhead was at a loss for words. She remembered the conversation she had with the gray haired reaper a mere few days ago when the chaotic battle for the Conduit's life played out in the library. Judging by the hidden pain in his voice when he read her verdict, it became obvious to her that this particular ancient's superior was the Gray Shadow. She bit her lip, taking care not to pierce the surface with her sharp teeth as she carefully considered whether or not to reveal the conversation she had with the gray reaper to the blonds in the room. Just as she was about to do so, the older reaper had already begun speaking.

"I already know what you're going to ask, Miss Sutcliff. I've already said before that this isn't a conflict of interest. Yes, it's sentimental on _his_ part, and mine, too, but it's still perfectly legal," the Security manager explained. "I already know what _he_ said to you. Why do you think I'm here?"

"How did this get done so quickly, sir?" the mower wielder asked.

" _He_ saw us, Ronnie," Red Death replied.

"She's right, you know," the ancient blond pointed out. "Why are you still confused, Mr. Knox?"

"Well, um, don't take this the wrong way, sir, but why is Stella sentimental to you? I mean no disrespect, sir, I'm just curious because she never mentioned you," he quickly added.

"Because she spared my life that day in May," he cryptically replied with a smile hinting at murder. "Let's wrap this up, shall we? I'm going to say that both of you personally turned your Death Scythes in to me. For the remainder of any Dispatch property, please pack it up and turn it in to General Affairs. You'll have ten minutes to go to your offices and pack up your personal belongings. Don't tell anyone I'm allowing you to keep your weapons. My superior has his reasons which will be made known when the time comes." He placed the remaining boxes on the desk for the remaining reapers just for this occasion. "Miss Sutcliff."

"Yes, sir?"

"I'd like a word with you."

The redhead looked to her young lover with anxiety flickering in her toxic green eyes. "I won't be long, Ronnie."

"I'll meet you in your office, then, ok?" The redhead nodded her approval. "'Kay, then, I won't touch anything. I know the rules."

The long haired reapers watched the young blond trot down the hallway with both boxes until they knew he was out of earshot. The manager shut and locked the office door behind himself and the red reaper. "'The rules', Miss Sutcliff?"

"I don't like people touching my stuff," the effeminate reaper huffed. "That's how good cosmetics go missing."

The Security manager burst into a fit of high pitched, psychotic laughter unfit of his intimidating appearance. "Oh gods! You crack me up! What a marvelous quip! You remind me a lot of my superior before he lost _her_." The blond approached the redhead and plucked the stylish glasses from their rightful place, allowing them to dangle from the delicate chain around her neck. "Both of you share many qualities," he said softly, internally grateful that her impaired vision couldn't see the painful devotion in his eyes when he looked at her and thought of _him_. "Both of you skate the edge of gender. It's a beautiful sight to behold, but I will always devote myself to him. Have you seen him without his glasses?" The psychotic reaper gently replaced the redhead's glasses. "The day I did, I wept like a child. His beauty is subliminal. Have a seat, Miss Sutcliff. Let's talk while I finish this paperwork."

"Y-yes, sir," Red Death squeaked.

"Don't be intimidated, Miss Sutcliff. Since this is off the record, you may call me Adam," the manager permitted. He looked up from his paperwork at the shellshocked red reaper and shook his head with a light chuckle. "Don't tell me that I scare you?"

"No, that's not it," Red Death absently replied. "I remember seeing Hesse without his glasses a few days ago. He is...indescribable, but I didn't cry."

"That's because the two of you are parallels of each other. I also think that you're undeniably beautiful, but Hesse is..." he trailed off. "Miss Sutcliff, nothing scares me except for three things: Crevan, my superior, and _her_." The male finished the first set of paperwork as he subtly changed the subject. He looked up at the redhead with deadly seriousness in his bright green and yellow eyes. " _Especially_ , her. I can swallow my fear when it comes to my superior or even Crevan, himself, but _she_ leaves me a blubbering mess unworthy of my own godhood. _She_ still scares the shit out of me to this day." He started the next set of paperwork as he droned on about the encounter he had with the Conduit.

"You mean to tell me she's alive?" Red Death asked in disbelief.

"Precisely, Miss Sutcliff." The ancient finished the second set of paperwork and started on the last. "I'm not going to bother telling my superior. I know he knows she's alive, but he has to deny it or the memory of her forgetting him will drive his anguish deeper into the darkness of his despair until his bloodlust can no longer be kept under control. If you haven't noticed lately, some of those 'guests' that Crevan's been getting are gifts from my superior."

"Oooh, the really mangled ones?"

"How do you know?"

"Common indulgence."

"You two really are parallels of each other." He shook his head sadly. "He has let his anguish consume him for too long, Miss Sutcliff. I have never seen him break down until he lost her. Gods, it was heartwrenching. It was only fair that I never abandon him. After all, he didn't kill me at my time of vulnerability many centuries ago. Even if I wanted to, I can't end my devotion to him. We ancients have our own ways of...never mind."

"Hesse told me that he always knows when she's crying, 'even beyond the borders of all the realms'," the reaper in red recalled.

"He said the same to me, and it's true, he does know when and where she's crying, 'even beyond the borders of all the realms'. Did he mention the drawing?" Red Death nodded. "If he wants you to see it, he'll show it to you. I can attest to you, that it is beautiful. He immortalized her innocence and beauty in perfect detail." The blond reaper completed the last set of paperwork, then began checking over all the forms for any missed mistakes. "Miss Sutcliff, please keep this conversation between us. Don't even tell Mr. Knox."

"I won't tell anyone about this, Adam," Red Death promised. "I don't understand why you're telling me so much about yourself anyway."

"I know you, though you don't know me, and because you and my superior are parallels of each other. It's a very long story about how I know you, but just know that I do. You were lovely as a mortal, you know." The blond manager's tone became serious as he abruptly changed the subject without giving the other a chance to respond. "The last thing I want to address is the matter of extracting Cinematic Records from a Death Scythe given recent circumstances."

"I don't understand what you need with human records. I thought that issue was settled during the 'case' Ronnie and I were assigned."

"Not a human's," the blond replied, closing the file folder. "Another reaper's."

"Another reaper's? Whose? Why?" the reaper in red questioned.

The ancient blond sighed, remembering she wasn't there to witness the deaths of the albino Rarity and the forgery of a legend. He summarized their causes of death and how their records ended up in the dead reaper's katana. He quirked a near invisible brow at the younger reaper. "Strange, isn't it?"

"I'll say," she agreed, still trying to register the information she had just been given. "So, you're telling me Gaines' records are irretrievable because he killed himself when Em was in his subconscious while also sharing her consciousness with Stella and the Ikiryo, knowing it was parasitic to her?" The male nodded. "What about her records?"

"She was of sound mind when she killed herself, so they have already been retrieved. My superior requires Gaines' records as soon as possible, Miss Sutcliff. If you are able to offer any assistance, it would be greatly appreciated."

Red Death smiled, exposing razor sharp teeth. "I can't, but try talking to Othello in forensics. This is right up his alley."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you not enjoy the embarrassment William felt at the hands of Adam? I know I did. *Squee!*


	4. Assignment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hesse's innermost thoughts /
> 
> Hi, thanks for reading my fun little tale. I bring you Othello, although slightly OOC, but for good reason. You'll see why within. Othello fans rejoice! I also bring you a bit of homoeroticism. Hmm...sorry, no yaoi. Not yet, anyway. I'm going to mercilessly tease you all. *evil, sadistic grin*  
> Enjoy.

On the word of his subordinate, a certain Councilman made an unorthodox appearance in the forensics department. Idle chit chat came to a sudden halt. The sound of chains bouncing off of leather took its place as the most feared man in the realm made his way to one particular target. As soon as he passed by, hushed whispers abounded, wondering why he was there. The Councilman paid them no mind in his single minded determination to extract hidden secrets from the dead. His high contrast eyes narrowed once his target was in sight: A man equal in height and build to his own with shaggy, brown hair and big, beautiful, emerald eyes, reminiscent of _hers_. The unusual reaper gave the younger man a once over, committing to memory his round, frameless glasses perched securely on the bridge of his nose, a crisp, white lab coat adorned with various buttons and a couple of pens peeking out of the chest pocket, black slacks, and the odd combination of white socks and red, slide sandals. He had the all around appearance of a laid back, yet serious guy with a certain aura of inquisitive eccentricity. If times were different, he'd allow himself a good natured laugh at the quirky ensemble, and he'd also take time out to dive into the inner workings of his mind. He always thought unusual things were attractive at best, and cute at the very least. Alas, the last sliver of light the shadow had left was swallowed by the darkness of his own anguish, and his passion was replaced with bloodlust.

/If times weren't so dark, I would take him./

The conversation between the two other reapers working alongside the Councilman's target immediately ceased as soon as he reached their work station. "What can I do for you, sir?" a female forensics agent finally greeted, voice slightly shaky with fear.

"I wish to speak with Othello," the ancient replied.

The intended target perked up at the sound of his name. "Did someone call me?"

"Yeah," his male coworker responded to him in a hushed voice. "It's the Gray Shadow. I suggest acknowledging him immediately. I heard he's on the Council now. Besides, everyone knows about his reputation. Good luck, man, we're out of here." The male forensics agent gave his coworker a desperate, apologetic look and made a hasty retreat along with the female.

The lone forensics agent cautiously turned around to face the reputed sadist. "How can I help you, sir?" he asked, adjusting his frameless, circular glasses.

"Please dispense with the formalities, Othello. I find them to be quite detestable. You may call me Hesse," the other permitted. "Do you have a more private place where we may converse? What I have to ask of you, I do not want known among your peers."

"There's an office no one uses. We can go there."

"Lead the way."

"So, Hesse is your name," the brunette mused. "We only know you as the Gray Shadow in our department."

"That is correct. I have no other name. I do not acknowledge a nationality despite what my records say. I'm far too old and devout in my faith to change my ways," the shadow replied matter of factly.

"Oh, so that rumor is true, you actually believe in a goddess. Interesting," the younger reaper casually remarked as he opened the office door. "Sorry it's a mess. It's mostly used as a storage room." He gave a small, apologetic shrug as if that would please his superior.

"Understandable." The Gray Shadow's mood suddenly darkened upon seeing the array of lab equipment along with a metal table in the office cum storage room. The other reaper's lab coat didn't help improve his darkening mood any as the combining factors reminded him of the darkest parts of _her_ past. As usual, when thoughts of her entered his mind, he drifted his fingers down the curved, metal spike in his left ear, still trying to recapture her soft kiss and the esoteric words whispered in its wake.

/I'm doing this for _her_. I'm doing this for Adrian. I just wish she would've remembered me so I could return what is rightfully hers in the way of her people. I wish I could tell her that I love her once more in that beautiful place I spoke of so long ago. I wish I could tell her that I freed her while Grell stood watch. I wish I could let her see _me_ one last time before she unleashes her beautiful Wrath on me./

The sandal wearing forensics agent froze in fear when he found himself throat to blade with the deceased reaper's katana. "Hey, I didn't do anything wrong," he protested, holding his hands up in surrender.

"No, you haven't, at least not yet. It will depend on whether or not you succeed with the orders I'm about to give you," the Councilman coldly replied as he withdrew his vanquished subordinate's blade from the other man's throat. "I'll be brief as I have important business I must attend to in the Council chambers. I'll warn you only once, Othello, this is a clandestine operation I am running. No one, absolutely no one else aside from us, Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, Adam White, and my secretary, Paige, is to know of this. If anyone else finds out about this before the appointed time, I will end each of you. Do you understand me?"

"Loud and clear. What do Sutcliff and Knox have to do with this? Aren't they-"

"Suspended? Yes," the shadow interrupted. "It was Miss Sutcliff who referred you to my subordinate."

"Adam White, I presume?" The Councilman nodded. "I assume this has something to do with that fight in the library that's got the whole realm talking. So, what do you need from me?"

The ancient shadow laid the katana on the metal table between them. "I need you to find a way to extract Martin Gaines' Cinematic Records from his Death Scythe."

The shaggy haired reaper carefully picked up the katana from its place on the table. "I take it the records are trapped inside...kinda like those 'suspicious suicides' I heard about, except those remained within the human's body. I wonder what the difference could be?" he mused as he intently studied the weapon.

"It's a long story, but I'll give you the basic facts necessary for your assignment." The shadow's tone became more clinical as he gave the other man an abstract of the events that transpired in the library the day he lost the Rarity he loved and the Rarity he called a friend. He made sure to point out in detail how his deceased subordinate's records transferred from his body to his Death Scythe, only to be trapped again. He made a clear distinction between the manners of death between his friend and his enemy, thus giving an explanation as to why only one set of records was able to be extracted.

A flurry of ideas swirled around in the forensics agent's head as he attentively listened to each word the unusual reaper uttered. "So, you're telling me that a parasitic consciousness was the initial cause of Gaines' 'suicide'? And not only that, when your friend ran herself through, she fell on top of him, incidentally impaling him again post mortem? Basically, because of her power, _she_ reaped _him_."

"In a manner of speaking," the gray reaper confirmed.

The man in the lab coat placed the katana back on the table with an excited glint in his eyes. "This endeavor has never been attempted, Hesse. When do I start?"

"Aren't you enthusiastic," the shadow commented. "You will begin today. I have already made all the necessary arrangements for you and Paige to work together undisturbed."

"Hesse, why exactly am I being assigned a secretary?"

The gray haired reaper glared wrath darker than black at the forensics agent. "Paige's abilities are not limited to mere secretarial work, Othello. When you arrive you will find that it was _she_ who returned the machinery to its working order. Moreover, any rumors you may have heard about her are groundless, so I highly suggest you treat her with the utmost respect. She is _my_ subordinate and reports directly to _me_ , therefore, I will not tolerate any mistreatment. Furthermore, Paige's presence is required for your safety due to the type of machine you'll be utilizing. It is harmless to her as she is a female, but to us, it poses a grave danger, especially to someone my age."

"I wonder what kind of machine possesses that kind of selective capability?" the shaggy haired reaper absently inquired.

"You are now aware of what Rarities are, Othello. Paige will brief you further on all other background information, however, I will say one thing. The machine is a simulation of the power of a Rarity's mind. The specific machine you'll be using is a match to..." the shadow trailed off into a momentary lapse of anguish. "It's a match to the most powerful and beautiful of the Rarities. It's only a simulation of her mind's power without emotion or physical affection to govern it, which makes it all the more dangerous, especially for the likes of me. I must caution you, that even when governed by their emotions and physical affection, the males of our race are the most susceptible to their power. Remember the axiom, Othello, and you'll understand what I mean."

The younger reaper's attention to his superior's body language tactlessly expressed itself in words when it was his turn to speak. "Is she someone you love?"

The fire in the sadistic shadow's eyes burned hotter than Hell as he cast his wrathful glare at the forensics agent. "That's none of your concern!" he snapped. "Just follow your orders and stay out of my affairs!"

"Sorry I asked," the brunette mumbled. "Where is the machine located?"

"Yes, that's right, I neglected to tell you the location of the machine," the ancient realized. "It's inside the nondescript white building standing apart from its peers. You'll see it beyond the grassy knoll when you exit through the rear of the library. Paige will be waiting for you at the entrance. This is a reciprocating assignment for both of you, so be sure to obey her orders for your safety, and make sure she obeys yours for the extraction procedure. I'm giving both of you two weeks to give me what I want." The gray haired man summoned his feared battle axe in preparation for his unorthodox exit from the forensics department. "Othello, please accept my apologies for losing my composure."

"It wasn't my place to ask," the brunette humbly replied.

"If you must know, as I'm sure you'll ask Paige, the Rarity in question is someone I still love to this day. We are of one faith, but we are not One, no matter how much I wished for us to be. I will speak no more of her. Loss is not something to take lightly, especially at my age. Please don't mention her again if you wish to preserve your life."

On impulse, the sadist knocked the younger reaper down onto the metal table and lodged his battle axe beside him, narrowly avoiding severing his fingers. The wide eyed forensics agent gasped when his glasses were plucked from his face. Hair the color of angry storms surrounded him as the Councilman scrutinized every detail of his face. "Your eyes are so much like _hers_ ; beautiful, lupine, vibrant, and inquisitive. Though yours are half the size of _hers_ , they are still just as enchanting." The Gray Shadow softly caressed the other's face, thanking the Goddess that he couldn't see the anguish in his high contrast eyes. "If times weren't so dark, I would take you. Indeed, you are beautiful, Othello." The shadow gently kissed the brunette on the forehead. "Remember my warnings. I do not make threats."

Just as the gray reaper was replacing the forensics agent's glasses to their rightful place, his were quickly snatched away. "It's only fair," the curious man at the sadistic reaper's mercy stated as he adjusted his glasses. His eyes became almost impossibly wide and filled with tears as he finally beheld the Gray Shadow. "My gods, look at your eyes. They look like fire."

The Councilman cocked his head to the side. "Even if I got within millimeters of my own reflection, I still wouldn't be able to see myself, yet I can still kill you where you stand. Do not shed tears, Othello. You haven't a reason to do so." The sadist effortlessly tore his battle axe free from the metal table. "Do forgive my impulsivenes, but I must say that I have an appetite for the unusual and I don't like to be teased. I'll be taking my leave."

The awestruck forensics agent returned the shadow's glasses to their rightful owner's expectant hand. "You're blind, aren't you?"

"Indeed, I am."

xxxxxx

First, he was intimidated by the Gray Shadow, and now, he was further intimidated by his secretary, but not quite in the same way. The normally laid back, inquisitive forensics agent silently followed the voluptuous, red haired reaper to the dangerous room the shadow had referred to moments ago. He barely spoke a word to the outgoing petite as she kept rambling on about her part in the assignment and her prowess with computer programming. Usually, he'd be elated to talk about such things with another person, especially if it was a woman. But, a woman of her caliber, both insanely beautiful and ingenious to boot, made him feel like a virgin all over again. He blushed when he realized he'd been staring at her swaying hips a little longer than he should have. It seemed she knew that he was looking when she slowed down and fell into step beside him.

"You've hardly said a single word to me," she remarked. "I know you were looking at me. I'm not mad. I'm used to it by now." She unconsciously pulled her top up in a fruitless effort to cover her cleavage.

"That's not it at all. Your boss is a scary guy," the male excused.

"Hesse? He can be testy at times, but I don't think he's scary. I can tell that he's suffered a fair amount of misfortune. Frankly, I like working for him. He doesn't harass me like my previous bosses did. I feel at ease being outspoken around him. He respects authenticity, Othello. That's why he hates being addressed formally." The redhead punched in a combination code at the steel double doors upon reaching their destination. "You were warned, weren't you?"

"Yeah, pretty sternly, I might add."

The secretary chuckled and latched onto the other reaper's arm. "In we go," she sang out, dragging the forensics agent along with her. "Whatever you do, don't let go of me. You may be young, but you are an eccentric, which makes you ideal prey for this machine." The petite smiled when she felt the other cling tighter to her as they cut through the lab on the way to the small, cluttered office.

An unusual feeling of pleasure reverberated inside the brunette's subconscious as they passed by the humming machine. He clutched the redhead tighter, and with great effort, blocked out images of himself in compromising positions with her. She slipped a well manicured hand over his, squeezing it in reassurance, but her touch only intensified the unusual desire implanted in his mind, courtesy of a simulated empathic power. "Hesse was right about this machine."

"You felt it, didn't you?" The forensics agent nodded. "Well, first thing's first, we each have our orders. This office is the safest place for you. Unfortunately, with the way the wiring is rigged I can't turn the machine off without cutting the rest of the power supply. It's been that way since they killed off the engineers who originally worked here."

"Huh?"

"Hesse told me that the building was sealed off and most of the power was converted into use as a means to dispose of the Empaths who originally worked here. All but one."

"How?"

"They were gassed to death. Some reapers swear they hear wailing coming from this building late at night when no one's around. Personally, I think it's their guilty consciences."

The reaper in the lab coat slowly seated himself in the chair and gazed up at the informative secretary. "How do you know all this?"

"In addition to being Hesse's secretary, I've been around for a long time, though not as long as some of the other ancients, and my assignment is to gather all necessary classified documents pertinent to the operation." The redhead perched herself on top of the desk in front of the younger reaper. "If you don't mind my saying so, Othello, I happen to think that you're quite attractive. Be assured, the rumors about me being an 'office slut' are untrue as well as the one about me having an interest in Hesse. I admire him, yes, but only as a superior who respects me and nothing more. With that being said, I look forward to working with you."

The speechless reaper was left staring like a stunned idiot at the redhead as she exited the office to resume her duties. He realized he had started taking a liking to the petite reaper when his pants began to fit a bit too tightly as he pictured himself in compromising positions with her, courtesy of his own imagination. "Damn."

xxxxxx

Two close friends walked side by side in silence outside the library. One of them was angrier than usual, and the other was bogged down in more duties than usual. They resumed their silent walk until they were a safe distance away from the prying eyes and ears of other reapers. The overworked reaper was the first to speak. "You look more pissed off than usual, Hesse. Bad day in the Council chambers?"

The Councilman didn't answer at first. Instead, he produced a sealed document from the inner pocket of his black, brocade coat and cast a side glare at his subordinate. "You could say that," he finally replied. "You know what this is and who it's for, and I'm sure the reason is also obvious to you."

"Yeah, the entire realm knows."

"I tried my hardest to prevent the remaining Council members from issuing the warrant, but in the end, I was the only one who wanted Adrian to be left in peace." The gray reaper beheld his friend with a sad, guilty expression on his face. "I did, however, manage to use my power over the Council so that I could personally hand deliver the warrant to Adrian. After all, him and I are legends in our own rights."

The acting Dispatch manager pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled at the gray haired reaper. "Right now I'm picturing you taking out the entire Council with that battle axe of yours." The blond's tone suddenly became deathly serious. "I've never known anyone under any circumstance with the ability to find a way to stop my men from arresting a reaper with a death warrant on their head. You never cease to amaze me. How did you get away with it since you're new to the Council?"

The Gray Shadow bitterly laughed. "Do you really have to ask, Adam? It pays to be the oldest and most powerful reaper in the realm. It wasn't easy to secure the assignment, though." The Councilman slid the warrant back into the coat's inner pocket as he successfully held back guilty tears.

"Why not?" the vicious blond asked, gently lifting his superior's head up to meet his bright green and yellow eyes full of painful devotion.

"Not only was my history with Adrian called into question." The shadow paused to bite back the anguish threatening to express itself in the form of broken tears. "She...my feelings for her..."

"Hesse, I won't judge you. She's precious to both of us for different reasons," the blond said lowly, gently placing a soft kiss on the shadow's lips. "I have always been devoted to you. I will always be devoted to you. I've seen you break down, so shedding one or two tears to keep your bloodlust in check won't make me any less devoted to you."

"You say those words as though you love me," the unusual man commented, returning his shadow's kiss.

"Perhaps I do, but as I am Nothing, I gladly expect nothing." The blond ran cobalt tipped fingers through wavy gray. "Even if the rest of the Council ordered it, I wouldn't go after Crevan and neither would my men. We swore our loyalty to you long ago and have never broken that oath."

The Gray Shadow resumed his walk further from anywhere reapers usually inhabited. "Adam, the others on the Council had the audacity to believe that I wanted to use my delivering Adrian's death warrant as an excuse to see _her_. It took quite a lot of time convincing those fools that she committed suicide, and that my reasons were, indeed, legitimate." The Councilman heavily sighed with downcast eyes. "This is going to be one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. I have a long history with Adrian and now he knows of my history with _her_. I know how possessive he is and how violent he tends to get when he flies into a jealous rage. She never saw that dark, violent side of him that you and I have seen. Yes, she was aware of how much of a possessive man he is, but if she would have seen his face when I watched him reap her...He had that certain look of possessive, jealous madness in his alluring eyes when he saw me in her room during the last few hours of her life, fruitlessly apologizing and voicing my unrequited love for her. He saved the most murderous of the jealousy in his eyes when he observed our more intimate moments during her younger years. I can't even begin to describe the expression on his face when he saw the night that her and I made love on her Cinematic Records...the night I drew her portrait. It makes me wonder who he's really jealous of." The elder reaper felt the younger reaper's fingers brush against his as they kept walking. Eventually, their fingers loosely curled around each other with every step they took. "All of our histories are converging onto a single point, and this death warrant could destroy what's left of the bond that Adrian and I have had throughout the centuries."

"Knowing you, you probably have a plan to keep everything from falling apart. You've got Sutcliff and Knox playing spy, and you have Othello and Paige digging up dirt on Gaines and the eugenics program. So, what is your _real_ plan?"

"I want to reset this realm and return it to the self governing society it was as in the days of our youth. After Adrian has been issued the warrant, I'm going to offer my advocacy to him, and I'm also going to let him come back in his own good time. With that being said, it'll buy me the time I need to gather all the necessary evidence required to absolve him of these groundless charges." 

The ancient blond looked thoughtful for a moment. "I never doubted for a minute that the upper echelons were drowning in their own deception. What happens if you fail?"

"I won't fail." The Gray Shadow lowered his gaze, but his voice remained as determined and authoritative as ever. "Regardless of outcome, we will launch a coup. All of those who have sworn loyalty to me will meet with us at a time and place of my choosing. I will depend on you to thoroughly vet each one." The unusual shadow's fingers drifted down the curved spike in his left ear as he thought of _her_. "Adam, I am not a possessive man, but if faced with the same scenario, I would have made what Adrian did look like child's play. My heart and my faith..." he trailed off.

The blond stepped in front of the Councilman and cupped his face in his hands. "Hesse, she is alive. I know you know it. Stop denying it to yourself. Stella is alive again, but she's not the same woman we once knew. She is fire in the form of a woman."

The Gray Shadow hung his head and sighed in defeat. "I know. I've always known. She is my Mistress who has returned again in the flesh. I don't want to think about it...For what I've done, I...This...it has consumed me for far too long...I demand loyalty and what I did to _her_ on that day...As it is written in Her Holy book: 'the Goddess shall not suffer liars to live'. I am that one, Adam..."

"Hesse, look at me," the Shadow's shadow implored, lifting the other's head up. "Didn't you tell me once before that it is also written that 'penitent sinners will be forgiven'? I don't claim a faith, however, I am yours, and even if you throw me away, I'll keep coming back. You'll have to kill me to rid yourself of me. I won't abandon you. If I was Stella, I'd forgive you, especially after witnessing the anguish you suffer each day. Even if she doesn't forgive you, and in spite of my feelings for her, my feelings for you prevail."

The shadow was acutely aware of the distance closing between himself and his shadow and decided to take advantage of it while he could. "I must admit that I have always had somewhat of an affection for you, Adam," he said lowly as he pushed the blond against a nearby wall. "I never regretted trading Gaines for you, although I will never know how Marcus felt about it." Each word brushed the taller reaper's lips as he spoke. Any potential response from the vicious blond was quickly consumed by his superior's passionate kiss. "A time and place of my choosing, Adam," the Councilman said softly before stealing his shadow's lips in an even more passionate kiss than the last. 

"Understood, Hesse. My men will be ready when you are," the psychotic blond acknowledged between soft, fleeting kisses. He laced his fingers through his superior's; a Shadow and his shadow becoming one. "May I be damned to Hell for all I care...my allegiance is with you and it always will be." Two experts in the art of war collided in an intimate kiss that belonged solely to them. Unlike lust between legends, lust between shadows carried its own homegrown darkness with no need for brutal fights for dominance. Vicious Nothing knew his place as he melted into the Gray Shadow's dark passion. He knew that he was the only man that his superior treated with intimate affection. He knew that the Gray Shadow and Legendary Death must have had their fair share of tender nights among the torrid, bloody sexual escapades they were well known for. Still, the Shadow's shadow wondered what made him special amongst the many men (and women) his superior had been with throughout the ages. He didn't share a bond with the shadow in the same way he did with the legend. No, he was simply devoted to his unusual superior...painfully devoted. "I will live and die at your command," he murmured into soft, gray waves, followed by a meaningful kiss.

"On that day, when She comes, let us hope your words still ring true," the Councilman whispered darkly as he affectionately embraced Nothing.


	5. Irresistable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella/Conduit's innermost thoughts ~  
> Undertaker's innermost thoughts *  
> Grell's innermost thoughts +
> 
> Yay! New inner monologue!  
> Hi, thanks for the reads. I'm back from birthday lazy mode with some steamy sexytime and hot yaoi! You knew it was coming. Consider it a coincidental compensation for my merciless teasing. *evil grin*  
> **My way of describing Grell's body in erotic situations is not meant to be objectifying, disparaging, or mocking. It's meant to be erotic and beautiful. I've said on more than one occasion that my OC thinks of Grell as a 'Transcendental'. As part of this story, my erotica surrounding Grell will revolve around that concept.**  
> Also, tentacle hair ero makes its debut. ***You have been warned.***

"She's still alive, Ronnie," Red Death informed the naked blond laying beside her.

He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. His perplexed expression quickly turned to disbelief as he registered his lover's information. "Are you referring to 'Taker's lady?"

"Yes."

"But, Spears-senpai said she died," he insistently pointed out.

"I already know that!"

The perceptive, young reaper gave his lover that certain look conveying the message that he knew she knew more than she was letting on.

+Damn that perceptive brat.+

Red Death sighed and gave in to her perceptive lover's stare. "Perceptive as always, Ronnie," she grumbled. "You don't know this, but it was Adam who told me she was alive, and it was he who made contact with her on a reaping job the night before we were suspended," she reluctantly admitted. "He said that she isn't the same woman we once knew. Her tattoos have changed, her manner of speech is more authoritative, but the most terrifying feature about her are her eyes. He said they observe the world around her while piercing one's very soul at the same time. He said her eyes are parallels to his superior's movements; everywhere and nowhere at once."

The blond haired reaper laid his head on the redhead's bare chest while listening to her speak of their temporary superior's encounter with the Conduit. He absently twirled a lock of scarlet silk around his finger as he thought of an appropriate punishment for his lover for speaking too much of another man while they were alone together, even if the context was innocuous. But first, he wanted to hear the rest of his lover's story. More fuel for the fire. "What else did White-senpai say?"

The pretty red reaper ran her fingers through the young man's disheveled hair. "The way he put it was: 'terrifyingly arousing'. Oh, he said she kissed him twice, and after she disappeared, he cried."

"Are you serious? Even though she's with 'Taker?" The naked blond stared open mouthed at his lover's somber expression. "Damn...Are you telling me White-senpai is in love with Stella?"

"Yes," Red Death answered simply. "In fact, aside from Marcus Jones, all of the ancients she came in contact with fell in love with her."

"Even that jackass, Gaines?"

"Even him. I found that out from Em a long time ago. She wasn't jealous by any means. She found it perplexing, to say the least."

"Because it was Gaines," the blond guessed.

"Exactly," the redhead confirmed. "You know her and I were good friends, right?" The other reaper nodded. "Anyway, she told me when he took her in, he originally planned to use her as a toy like he did with her girlfriend...with May...I hate remembering that day...Sorry, I'm starting to drift off topic." The effeminate reaper affectionately squeezed her lover's hand. "It turned out radically different when Gaines got a good look at those eyes of hers. He ended up treating her the same way he treated Emily-like a lover. Whether or not his affection was sincere is unknown. What's absolutely clear is that Stella accepted it during her time of need despite considering him her enemy. Mind you, this is prior to and after the years she spent living with Hesse."

"Why?"

"Because he was there, and because he has long hair. According to Emily, it's high order blasphemy for Rarities to willingly have sex with men who have short hair. I think she mentioned that they would be put to death if they got caught sleeping with a short haired guy. She never explained why, and I didn't ask. It wasn't the time or place."

"Grell, she is truly a powerful woman in many ways. I admire her strength. I honestly don't think I'd be able to endure everything she's been through," the trainee admiringly expressed. "I'm glad we're helping Hesse-senpai and White-senpai with 'Taker's case. 'Taker didn't do anything wrong by protecting his lady."

"I know, and so am I," Red Death agreed. "I think we should go pay that gorgeous, old loon and his Lovely a visit tonight. How about it, Ronnie?"

"That would be nice, but I think you need to be punished first," the mowing reaper said flatly as he tied his lover's hands to the bed frame. "All this excessive talk about other men is just annoying." His eyes flashed jealous lust at the bound redhead as he took his rightful place above her. He let his hand travel down to the place that transcends and gently stroked her. Unlike her previous lovers, he had a way of making her feel comfortable in her own skin.

+He never makes me feel ashamed for being me. Though I'm a man, he treats me like the lady that _I_ am.+

"Ronnie, don't you think-" The pretty red reaper was cut off by her jealous lover's smoldering kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut, then quickly flashed open again when she felt him enter her hidden place. He started out slow, teasing her, making her body beg for him to move faster; to give her the release she was desperately craving. Try as she might, she couldn't break free from the bonds holding her wrists to the bed frame.

+The little shit caught on fast.+

As the younger reaper began to move faster, he lifted one leg to his chest and targeted her weakness with delicate caresses from her ankles to her thighs. He smoothly exchanged one long leg for the other, planting little kisses up her calf and behind her knee, making her squirm beneath him, taking his steady thrusts in deeper. She cried out as he grew more relentless in his domination over her. The jealousy in the lawnmower wielder's eyes faded away to pure, unbridled lust as he grasped onto the writhing redhead's hips and dove deeper into her hidden place. Her body arched into his as his powerful thrusts unlocked her secret places. He moved faster, diving deeper, in search of his own gratification as his passionate lover reached hers. They shared a passionate kiss that the effeminate reaper used as a ploy to entwine her legs around the other's waist, pressing their bodies together. Her demand on him was unrelenting as he did his best to fulfill it. Once he shattered the locks to her secret places, every part of her that wasn't bound constricted him, giving him the gratification he needed.

"I'm going to get you back for tying me up like that," the pretty red reaper pouted.

"I'll be looking forward to it, gorgeous," her lover responded with a kiss.

xxxxxx

She knew he was there watching her sleep. She knew he missed her touch whether he admitted it or not. He knew she missed his as well, but what he didn't know about was the feeling in her chest that had steadily grown more painful day by day since _that_ morning. She also knew about his cannibalistic autoeroticism and wondered why he didn't just relieve himself with her. She suspected that he knew parts of her past crept up on her in her most intimate moments without her consent or control. An ache in what was once the void space of her second heart came and went with astonishing speed. She wanted to share the glory of this self regenerative experience with him, but he missed his chance.

~He will never know the joy I felt when that which was stolen from she was returned to Me.~

Her eyes subtly glowed beneath translucent lids as she smiled to herself when she shifted positions, exposing her back to him. She knew her pale flesh was irresistible to his long, black nails. When she felt him drift a single nail down the length of her spine, she was proven right. He giggled softly at her pleasured purr, then it was her turn to giggle when the tips of his silver bangs brushed the back of her neck as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Wake up, Lovely."

The petite turned over to greet the seductively smiling face of her lover. "I'm starving, Adrian."

"I know," the mortician acknowledged. "I'm sorry that I've been neglecting my Lovely. Even though I've taken care of my guests, I've avoided you. All of this is still a shock to me...to know that you're not mine anymore. After all, I am a _very_ possessive man." The silver haired man regarded the Conduit with electric green eyes seeking understanding and forgiveness.

The petite sat up and began unbuttoning her lover's form fitting tunic, followed by the white button down shirt underneath. "She forgives because it's you." Delicate fingers traced winding scars on pale flesh as the tattooed woman trapped the reaper in hypnotic, heterocromatic seduction. "But, you won't be forgiven by She a second time." Each word of warning brushed against the reaper's lips before capturing them in a fire borne kiss. She purred as he loosely knotted long fingers through lavender locks. She crawled on top of him as he wrapped his arms around her, intensifying the kiss that belonged solely to them. "Your fingers are so long and beautiful," the seductive goddess observed as she ghosted her hands over each of the madman's slender fingers. 

"Yours are just too small," he quipped, watching in fascination as she used her tactile senses as a sensual weapon against him. His heart sped up when she targeted his weaknesses with precision licks and well placed nibbles. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods," the aroused legend moaned. He clutched her tighter as each piece of metal in his ears got the attention they deserved. He knew she knew his hand crept closer and closer to her hidden place, silently begging permission to enter.

"You want to feel Me, don't you?" she asked between teasing nips at his ear piercings. The wide eyed, yearning expression on his face was answer enough for her. "Very well. It'll be a first for Me with you." She pressed herself against him and guided his hand to her hidden place and invited him to explore, nails and all. "Your nails feel just as wonderful inside Me as they do on My skin," she observed as she freed her lover from skintight, black leather. He moaned into the fiery kiss she bestowed upon him as her hand slowly felt what made him a man. Though this was a familiar feeling for him, something about it made him feel as though...

*I'm about to lose myself.*

"Adrian, have you ever made love?" the hypnotic goddess asked her dazed lover. She brushed back silver bangs and beheld wide, dilated phosphorescent double irises staring back at her in utter perplexity.

"Haven't we always done that, Lovely?"

The Conduit tucked stray silver behind pierced ears as she softly smiled at the legend. "The she that you knew had a need for pleasurable pain. I am She. I am the Goddess made flesh. I am She whose Wrath runs deep, and whose Love runs deeper. I have no need for pleasurable pain."

The legendary reaper skimmed his clawed hands over the feminine contours of the Divine woman's body. Her abnormally high body heat alone was enough to drive him insane with desire. He finally met her omnidirectional emerald and sapphire eyes, immediately finding himself transfixed by their eerily seductive light. He felt her twine their fingers together, bringing him closer to her, and again, he felt like he was on the verge of losing himself. All of these familiar sensations were somehow new to him, and it scared and aroused him at the same time. "I don't know," he absently admitted. "All I _do_ know is that I'm almost at my limit when I just barely touch you. I feel like I'll lose myself as soon as I'm inside you...just like a pathetic virgin schoolboy."

The tattooed woman teased herself with that privately pierced part of him without mercy, relishing in his desperate effort to maintain self control. "Now you know how she felt when she was ensnared by your hunter's gaze." 

" _You_ don't feel the same way?" the mortician pouted, still in a desperate, losing battle to maintain control over himself. The Conduit's hand joined with what made her a woman as she continued to tease him. If it were any other woman, he'd shove her down on her back and fuck her until she broke for teasing him so relentlessly, but this woman...

*This...goddess...whatever she's doing...I don't want her to stop...*

had him trapped, willingly unmoving in her mesmerizing blue and green lights. He merely watched her brazenly tease him while putting on a full display of sensual autoeroticism for his viewing pleasure. He was vaguely aware of the inaudible whimper that escaped him as he lost the battle for his self control when the petite positioned herself above him.

She smiled at her silver love as she softly caressed his scarred cheek. "Adrian, I'm going to make love to you in the way of My people. I'm going to make you lose yourself in sublime pleasure. It is not My intention to make your eyes dark should you lose yourself when you don't see fit. This isn't a competition of endurance." She lifted the reaper's head up, locking eyes with him. "I want you, Adrian. I want you as you are right now, at this moment; vulnerable, pure, innocent, beautiful, afraid, hungry, docile, and naked. I want _all_ of you deep inside me."

"By all means, I am yours," the madman responded with a deep, passionate kiss.

The Conduit was a slow burning fire in the form of a woman as she rode the legendary reaper with ethereal grace. She invited him to touch her as she touched herself, sending the pleasure they felt to new heights. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the Conduit unleashed her passion on the legend at her mercy. Each graceful movement she made seemed to revolve solely around him. He pushed himself into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her, clutching her tighter as she unlocked his secret places. Her skin burned hot beneath his fingers as her ethereal passion gave way to destruction's flame. Her flesh molded around his, making him feel like he was the only one in her world. Words whispered sharply in an ancient dialect of her language went unnoticed by the reaper as the petite moved faster, taking him in deeper, unlocking her secret places. Her flaming split irises stared everywhere and straight into his very soul. The expression of pure yearning on his face brought back a microscopic snippet of a memory she didn't want to think about at a time like this.

_"Do you know what it's like to make love to someone?"_

_"I'm afraid that I don't know, love. I've never experienced anything that deeply intimate."_

The petite buried her face in silver silk in an effort to escape the ghost of a memory that decided to haunt her at a most inopportune time.

~Who is it that I'm thinking of? Why am I thinking of him...the Possessor of the Eyes of Divine Fire...this beautiful, familiar stranger? Is it he who Adrian is jealous of?~

The Conduit wrapped her legs around the silver reaper and held his head against her chest. "Listen to My twin hearts beating. While I was alone, My Heart of Wrath returned. You missed a glorious part of My rebirth. You watched My original Heart of Wrath get torn from her chest while she was comatose, but ignored its regrowth while She was here with you." The chastised legend obediently listened to his lover's heartbeats; one of which he was familiar with, the other an angry stranger. Delicate fingers slid through silver silk as she continued her gentle dance with Legendary Death. "I am One again, my silver love."

*Self regeneration...how peculiar. Not even the Divine has that power. Ah, but my Lovely has always been peculiar, and that's what I love about her.*

The silver haired man placed a soft kiss over each of her hearts. "One heart or two makes little difference to me. You're still my Lovely, and I love you," he responded with a sweet, passionate kiss. He used the distraction to his advantage and maneuvered her onto her back. He merely had the illusion of control as he remained ensnared by the power of her mind and the touch of her skin. Even if he wanted to, he was powerless against awakening his own possessive nature and taking it out on her in the form of aggressive sexual domination. Instead, he was lost in the hypnotic illumination of her heterocromatic eyes. She moved freely beneath him as he penetrated her with deep, fluid thrusts, unlocking her secret places with a certain, private piercing. A curtain of silver surrounded them as he bent down to share a fiery kiss with his lavender lover. Delicate tendrils of lavender crept over the mortician's back and around his legs as the Conduit deepened the kiss.

"I'm going to make you feel a kind of pleasure you've never felt before; a pleasure known only among My people," she whispered into the kiss.

The mortician grinned. "Do tell."

"The Pleasure of Secrets. I want _all_ of you, Adrian. I want to be _inside_ you." Omnidirectional flames burned in the night sky as she made her wish known to the ancient. "Liberate yourself to Me."

"As my Lovely wishes," he absently complied as they continued their deadly lover's dance. His eyes fluttered closed when he felt a long, lavender tendril enter his hidden place, seeking out that certain key to shattering his secret places.

*What is she putting inside me? That can't be her hair, can it?*

More of her silky tendrils invaded whatever orifices were available that they saw fit to invade for reasons relevant to the events currently transpiring. This was an unnerving, painful, and extremely arousing experience for the mortician. He felt himself release inside the invasive goddess on more than one occasion as the tentacles twisted and turned, drilling deeper into his body as though they planned on extracting every secret sin he's committed and had yet to commit.

*Yet, I am still craving more. I don't want this to end. It's like a powerful drug...*

"How does it feel?" the petite asked, slowly blinking her eyes at him, inner eyelid trailing outer.

The euphoric legend caught in Divine tentacles mumbled incoherently, obviously unable to voice the painful pleasure he felt from being invaded while he made love to his invader. Every part of the strange eyed goddess constricted around him as he unlocked her secret places with unrelenting, deep thrusts. The petite grabbed the legend's thin, silver braid and pulled him down for a lust fueled kiss, locking themselves together as a single entity-one inside the other, the other inside the one-shattering the locks to each other's secret places.

"How did it feel?" she asked again.

"Painful and pleasurable. I don't know if it's something I'd make a habit of experiencing. I wouldn't want something that precious to become boring," the reaper clumsily replied.

The Conduit raised a hairless brow. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I don't want to overindulge in it to the point where it loses its allure and its meaning," he restated.

Her eyes narrowed at her lover in deep suspicion. "I see."

~Good save, though you still evade the question.~

xxxxxx

~Red Death...and she brings another.~

The Conduit's eyes flashed open as soon as she sensed the presence of the suspended reapers entering the shop through their own forbidden portal. The petite slipped out of bed and into something light and airy without waking her sleeping lover before vanishing to the shop below.

"Stella!" the redhead joyfully squealed when she beheld the Conduit's sudden appearance before her and the blond. "I told you Adam was telling the truth, Ronnie!"

The tattooed woman smiled at the pair. "I am She," she greeted in her own way since her rebirth. "Grell, Ronald, thank you for defending she on the day her Hour struck."

The blond reaper rubbed the back of his neck and nervously smiled at the female. "Spears-senpai told us you died, then White-senpai told Grell he ran into you a few days ago..." he trailed off.

"And, here we are!" the reaper in red exclaimed, taking the petite's hands in hers. "Adam is acting Dispatch manager now since Ronnie, myself, and that brute, William, got suspended."

"For fighting for she?" the goddess of mass destruction guessed.

"Yeah, and 'Taker, too." The lawnmower wielder looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't mean any offense by asking this, but-"

"You wish to know why My eyes have changed?" Both reapers nodded. "The she that you knew and defended is dead. I am She, the Conduit, reborn to fulfill the Prophecy." She suddenly embraced the pair. "My Sister, My Brother, I love you both as treasured friends. I'm so glad you came."

"Ah, there's my Lovely," the mortician greeted in a singsong voice. "My dear, Grell, and her prince are here as well. What brings the two of you to my humble, little shop?" The silver reaper twirled a tendril of lavender around a spindly finger as he selfishly took the female's embrace for himself.

"We came by to say hi and see how our favorite couple was doing," the pretty red reaper answered with a flirty wink.

"I see. So, I overheard you telling my Lovely that 'Adam' is acting Dispatch manager now. Could that be Adam White by any chance?"

The Conduit peeked up at the legendary reaper's eyes and caught a glimpse of jealous rage starting to overshadow the euphoria she was growing accustomed to. She politely excused herself so that the reapers could hash out their differences amongst themselves. Her real reason remained unspoken as she disappeared like a phantom to a place of peace known only to her.

~Not again...Adrian, your jealousy knows no bounds. It will be your undoing.~

*It seems I've upset my Lovely again...I wonder what I've done?*

"Yeah, is that a problem?" The reaper in the red dress knitted her brows together in confusion. "Unnie, did we do something wrong?"

The silver haired man shook his head. "No. I'm just surprised that Hesse let his dog off his leash."

"Hesse appointed him to that position," the redhead informed.

"Is that so? Now, I may be out of circulation, but even I know someone in his position doesn't have that kind of authority," the mortician scoffed.

"You're right, Adrian," a cold, razor blade voice sounded from the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else thought jealous Ronald was cute?


	6. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella/Conduit's innermost thoughts ~  
> Undertaker's innermost thoughts *  
> Yurei/Ikiryo's innermost thoughts/communication =  
> Hesse's innermost thoughts /
> 
> I have risen from the dead with yet another chapter. Thanks for the reads, and sorry for the super slow update. Adulting sucks. Flat sucks. I hate adulting. Aside from that, I've been working on other projects. My chief occupation is art. You know, sledgehammers and doll parts make for wonderful art supplies. I had to do something with those damn TVs that stopped working. I also needed to get back to working on an erotic drawing that I began last year. Oh, let's not forget that I'm not done with the rough draft to this wonderful fic. Hectic. So, I'm taking a break to bring you this hot little number.  
> We have more yaoi, an emotional reunion worthy of a romantic drama, feels galore, some intrigue, and more of Undertaker's dark nature exposing itself in its own subtle way.  
> Because Hesse now knows my OC is reborn as her own deity, and because he is a devotee of her faith (as was she in her past life), he will refer to her using proper pronouns (She) only when he speaks of and to her as a deity. In all other context, normal pronouns will be used. Hopefully, this alleviates any confusion going forward.

Silence permeated the once lively atmosphere as the Gray Shadow emerged from his own personal portal into the mortician's closed shop. "However, I no longer occupy that position," he sharply informed, high contrast eyes landing on the suspended, young reapers.

"We'll take this as our cue to leave, Ronnie. We only came by to say hi to Unnie," the redhead suggested. 

Only her lover caught on to the sense of urgency in her voice. "Yeah, we need to get going or we'll be late for our date," he enthusiastically lied. The reaper in red giggled when he wrapped his arm around her waist. "See ya!"

"Bye, Unnie!" Red Death bid, blowing him a kiss just to irritate her young boyfriend.

The two ancients waited until they were completely alone before resuming their conversation. "My authority is legal and absolute, Adrian. I now have the power and the access that I spoke of long ago. It is greater than you think, although I am in a rather precarious position when it comes to you."

"You're on..." the legend trailed off as he slowly realized what his former lover meant by power and access.

"Yes, I'm on the Council. Someone has been redeemed," the shadow confirmed.

"What did you _really_ come here for, Hesse? I know it's not just to say 'hi'. It's been at least two centuries since we've last spoken, let alone seen each other."

The gray reaper produced an ominous, sealed document from the inner pocket of his black, brocade coat. "This is your death warrant. I don't need to explain to you why it's being issued. I won't insult your intelligence. Furthermore, by my delivering it to you personally, I am putting myself at great risk for what I propose to do."

"And, just what the hell is that?" the madman growled.

"Break protocol, of course," the shadow replied. "I am the only one on the Council who believes-no, who _knows_ -that the charges filed against you are groundless. I have come to offer you my advocacy, Adrian."

"After refusing to speak to me-"

"I refused you nothing, Adrian," the Councilman sharply cut off the silver reaper. "You knew of my goals, and I am still pursuant in those goals. You clearly know nothing of military protocol. It is far stricter than Dispatch. So much so, that despite my power and status, I was still bound by certain limitations if I wanted to successfully infiltrate the corrupted upper echelons. I was also the head of two departments, and by the time I got both departments properly organized in addition to acquiring loyalists, you were gone."

"Loyalists?" The mortician quirked a brow beneath silver fringe.

"My own private army sworn to live and die at my command," the Councilman replied in a deadly serious tone.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, and I refuse to elaborate any further. Adrian, I didn't refuse you. My duties and goals-the oath I swore to you in the letter I wrote-kept me parted from you. I am not here out of selfishness or else I wouldn't bother to exploit the loopholes in our laws that the Council is not aware of."

The mortician smirked. "Nepotism. You sly bastard."

"I wouldn't call it that, you rogue asshole. Apparently, the Council forgot several of our ancient laws and never took them off the books, therefore, I intend to use them to my advantage if that means I can accomplish my goals. If not, I have other means. Either way, I will defend you and absolve you of these charges, even if I have to slaughter the entire Council to do it."

"While I'm grateful for your offer, I know you well enough to know that you don't act on anything unless you're deriving personal gain from it. Cut the altruistic crap and tell me the truth," the madman demanded.

"You're not entirely off the mark. My self interest isn't for personal gain, however." The shadow took a deep breath. "I must clear my conscience, Adrian. Even though I'm forgotten, I still need to redeem myself for what I've done all those years ago," he sadly admitted.

Legendary Death glared acidic, jealous rage at his former lover from beneath a veil of silver. "What if I refuse?"

"You will die, and you will also never know the reason behind the destruction of Stella's homeworld," the younger reaper bluntly replied.

The stunned legend silently stared at the unusual man. "What else are you hiding, Hesse? Tell me right now or I'll-"

"You have no reason to threaten me," one ancient cut off the other. "The only hard evidence I have so far are documents left behind upon Emily's death in addition to her Cinematic Records. Currently, I have people working under my orders to gather more evidence to be disclosed when the time comes for your hearing. Aside from that, just my hunches, which I also hope will be confirmed by the evidence my people find."

"You expect me to just happily accept your proposal after leaving me without a word and after I saw everything you did with _my_ Lovely on her records! You have some fucking nerve, Hesse!" Legendary Death angrily shouted.

"I'm not here to rehash the past, Adrian," the Councilman calmly replied.

The calmness of his former lover's reply set the legend's fury into motion. He summoned his Death Scythe, intent on killing the smaller reaper as he had fantasized doing while watching the Conduit's Cinematic Records during certain periods of her life. Instead of hitting its intended target, the legendary crescent blade was effortlessly blocked by a fearsome battle axe. With a flick of the wrist, its wielder disarmed the legendary reaper and backed him up against the wall. The jealous rage in Legendary Death's eyes gradually waned as he stayed trapped within the high contrast depths of the Gray Shadow's double irises.

*His eyes are fire and bloodlust.*

His hands seemed to act on their own as they removed the other man's glasses. Involuntary tears trickled down his face when the gray reaper's true beauty came into view. His heart sped up as the distance between them shrank. Just as in the days before he went rogue, he stealthily began disrobing the sadist who owned his heart.

"The last time you came at me like that, you were writhing beneath me, crying out in ecstasy," the seductive shadow purred. He shrugged off his brocade coat, revealing a peculiar, black leather ensemble held together with heavy zippers complemented by high heeled boots laced all the way up to his thighs. A set of chains wrapped around the top of one boot, but not the other. He knew the aroused silver reaper's heart was racing beneath his scarred chest as he removed his loose clothing with the same skill as a sighted man. The legend knew he knew it was his revealing black leather and high heeled boots that put the ache in his arousal. He also knew the other knew he was on the verge of losing himself when the element of blindness-his true beauty-was added to the mix. The sadist sought out, and found the fine marring of flesh bisecting the mortician's face. He smiled at the soft moan escaping the other man's lips when he drifted his delicate fingers down the trail of twisted flesh. "Though I cannot see you, I know that you are still a flawless beauty. Flesh scarred, psyche destroyed, you will always be a flawless beauty to me. I also know that you are shedding tears as you behold me," he softly whispered, gently kissing away his tears.

"Why are you so captivating?" the mortician whispered, drawing the other reaper closer.

"Why are you so alluring?" the other responded, followed by an intensely passionate kiss. As in the dawn of the shadow's reaping days, he and the legend fought for dominance, and as usual, his unbridled passion won. 

The legendary reaper tossed his head back, silver hair, an echo of his crescent blade as he rode the sadistic shadow. It had been many years since he was 'forced' to show himself to the sadist like this, but he was the only one he'd submit himself to. The erotic way he moved was eerily feminine as well as the sounds sweetly flowing from his mouth. He flinched when he felt the unusual man sharply tug on his genital piercing. "Touch yourself more," he commanded. "I'm not satisfied."

Even though the Gray Shadow was blind, and it had been at least two centuries since he had last had a passionate night with Legendary Death, he still retained the memories of his body and the way it moved as well as the way he engaged in acts of autoeroticism in perfect detail. His remaining senses were heightened beyond imagination (he is a god), and without glasses, they became his eyes. In addition to that, he also possessed a special gift that carried over from his time as a human: Eyes of Divine Fire...something internal rather than external in terms of sight. That's why he knew the man showing himself to him did it of his own free will. He watched, feeling the subtle vibrations in the air around them as the silver reaper felt his full length, digging a single nail beneath the piercing as he rolled and snapped his hips astride him. The blind reaper felt the man on top of him spread his legs apart a bit more to please him while he ran his fingers over random scars decorating his legs, eliciting loud cries of rapture and silver hair flying through the air in random directions.

"Hesse, touch _me_ more," the legend begged as he strangled what divided him from the fairer sex.

*Oh gods, I sound like _her_.*

Without warning, the gray haired reaper threw the other man on his back, pinning him down by the wrists. "I think I've seen enough."

"You can't see," the other man retorted.

"I always know what you're doing, Adrian. I can feel the movements of your hands sending subtle vibrations through the air surrounding us when you touch yourself. Was it not you who taught me, that as a blind reaper, I mustn't rely on my eyes to see if I wish to survive? Adrian, for me, as a blind _man_ , I am my eyes."

The silver haired legend caressed his former lover's cheek with delicacy and care as his heart stirred from being deeply moved by the profound statement the other made. "Hesse, I love you so much, and I never stopped loving you."

The Gray Shadow had no response to share with the legend other than the fiery kiss that belonged solely to them as he entered his hidden place with passionate precision. The legend's long limbs wrapped around him as he penetrated the secrets long awaiting to be unlocked by him. The unusual reaper grabbed onto scarred thighs, thrusting harder and deeper, relishing in the cries of rapture his former lover made as he unlocked his secret places. He moved faster, seeking out the darkest secrets with sweetly sadistic thrusts. He internally smiled at the way the mortician's flesh quivered below the scar tissue each time he decided to acquaint himself with one of the many long scars adorning his body. "Adrian, you've lost yourself so many times, yet your desire for me is still-"

"Hesse, it has never faded away," he softly interrupted, joining hands with the other at his privately pierced place, stroking it with sweet violence. With his other hand, he pulled the man he loved down for the most passionate kiss he'd ever given anyone.

Fingers almost too delicate to belong to a male slipped through sweaty silver. "You kiss me as though you love me; knowing that I cannot return your feelings. Adrian, let our bond be my love for you," the shadow said softly as he returned the legend's kiss with the passion he's renowned to possess. As their kiss grew more fevered, the shadow dove deeper, losing himself in silver as their joined hands caressed what made him a man. Legendary Death arched his body into the unrelenting man's body as his piercing became fodder for sadistic, twisting fingers. The sadistic shadow, in turn, cried out as his back became prey to long nails tangling themselves in the loops between his shoulder blades, resulting in a much more brutal handling of the older reaper. "I knew I should have bound and gagged you, but I wanted you to show yourself to me," he growled out between violent thrusts.

"I wouldn't have minded as long as it's you," the legend breathily replied. "Gods, Hesse, I can't..."

"Then, let go, my beautiful Adrian." The shadow sweetly kissed the man at his mercy, relishing in the tiny whimper he made, signaling that he was close. As the locks to the ancient's secret places were shattered, his flesh conformed to the dominant man's flesh, unlocking his secret places; a shadow losing himself in creation.

xxxxxx

"How did it end up this way? I loved you. I still love you," the legendary reaper sadly confessed. "I wasn't just saying it in the heat of the moment."

The thin reaper replaced his glasses and regarded his former lover with sympathetic eyes. "I know, Adrian, and you are also aware of my nature. If you weren't such a possessive and jealous man, then I would have returned your feelings. I would have allowed myself to feel with you, but I am one who stakes no claims and refuses to be claimed. I do have a bond with you and I always will. Let that be my love for you, and treasure it as I do." He paused to adjust the chains on the top of his boot. "I now know the reason for your jealousy. We both love her, but your feelings for her are not the same as they are for me, however, you fear loneliness should she remember me and leave you. I won't steal her from you, however, should she remember me and desire me, I will act on my desire for her."

"Even if it's in public, I bet," the mortician grumbled.

"I love her the way you love me. Anything she desires, at any time, at any place, no matter the circumstances, I will fulfill for her, even if it's my own death, but by her hand alone." The gray haired reaper relaced his other boot as he thought of what to say next. "You are aware of my nature, Adrian-"

"I am, and that's what I could never understand about you. You're unlike anyone else of our race. Even as a human, you didn't have a grasp on those emotions. Your unusual nature is what I love, and also what I hate about you," the legend candidly expressed.

The Councilman had no rebuttal to make to the silver reaper's observation, so he changed the subject. "Adrian, my presence is required elsewhere, so I will ask you once more, will you accept my advocacy?"

Before the mortician could answer, the Conduit's malignant voice spoke from directly behind the Councilman. "Adrian, who is this person?" she fiercely demanded.

The silver haired man was too startled by the female's unexpected appearance to utter a reply. The only one who offered any kind of response was the gray haired reaper who cautiously turned around to face the owner of the commanding, sensually malignant voice. Both beings' eyes widened for different reasons as they beheld each other.

=Conduit, it is he, the final familiar stranger. It is the Shadow. Try to remember.=

~Formless One, is it _really_ he who possesses the Eyes of Divine Fire?~

=They are one man, Conduit. One man and no more. Remember, Conduit.=

/She is the Sublime. Please remember me, my beautiful love. Please forgive me for what I have done. If not, I will gladly perish by Your hands alone./

"Who are _you_?" the petite impatiently repeated.

The Gray Shadow opened his mouth to speak, but his vocal cords rebelled against him. For the second time that evening, his glasses were removed from his delicately structured face. He didn't protest-nor would he ever protest-because it was _her_. Tears flowed freely once his eyewear was removed, leaving nothing but murky haze in sight. "Stella," he finally managed to whisper in a voice choked with anguish.

Tears dripped down from large, lupine eyes when she beheld the shadow's borderline androgynous features. A subtle, hungry glow combined with an expression of awestruck recognition sent the goddess to her knees.

~It _is_ him, he who possesses Eyes of Divine Fire!~

She looked up at the reaper who was hesitant to join her. "It's you," she softly sobbed in recognition.

The gray reaper quickly joined her on the floor between two coffins, unaware that they were being observed by legendary, jealous eyes. As usual, he gave in to his compulsion to kiss away her tears without regard to any resulting consequences. His heart virtually stopped when she reciprocated his actions. "It's been so very long since you've done that, my beautiful love," the sweet shadow whispered in the haunting voice he reserves just for her.

"Hesse...you are Hesse...he who possesses Eyes of Divine Fire." She studied every part of him from head to toe, eyes hungrily glowing as they fixated on the eccentric leather ensemble and high heeled boots. She felt the same arousal Legendary Death felt, but in a different way as they were different creatures of different worlds possessing differing ways to pleasure themselves and each other. "Have you always worn this?" she inquired in an effort to restore her memory of him.

"No, however, the position I occupy now permits me the power to wear the attire I wore in the days of my youth."

"You're beautiful."

"As are you. I see you have on one of the garments your people wore to commemorate triumph in war," he humbly observed with a bowed head dripping anguished tears.

"To dance upon the corpses of our enemies. Shall I dance upon yours?" The Conduit lifted the male's bowed head and beheld an emotion darker than the deepest chasm in the blackest pits of Hell within his dark green and citrine eyes. She scooted closer to him-close enough to kiss him-and intently studied the decades old anguish buried in his once passionate eyes. She felt his anguish course through her body, its heavy weight squeezing her hearts; tormenting them until empathetic tears overflowed from split gems dimming by the second.

~How can I think of killing him? He is the one whose face haunts Me; whose sadness is My sadness.~

Memories of him-of them-flooded her unstable mind as she continued to gaze into his anguished eyes. With a simple touch of two fingers to the middle of his forehead, she experienced the entire crushing force of his decades old despair he kept locked deep within himself since the day he betrayed her in a life she once led. 

"I'm so sorry for everything, my beautiful love," the sinner regretfully whispered. "For what I've done-"

The Conduit placed a delicate hand over the other's mouth, silencing him, then began speaking in the dialect of her language that was privy only to them. "What you ordered...My Daughters did not deserve to live in fear of their own reflections. You did right by She. A Rarity who fears her own death is not worthy of life. I am She who decreed in the Beginning that those who fear Death must be a living sacrifice for the Teeth of She."

"So it is written. It is also written that the rise of Dawn will be on the Day of Wrath, and Death will be feared no more. The just shall pass peacefully through the Cleansing Fire while the sinners are slaughtered by the Daughters of the Sublime."

"Is that what you called Me in your Holy book?" the Conduit asked, eyes aglow with perplexity. "You still remember your texts well."

"I never stopped believing," the shadow replied lowly. "Now I am with You as I have hoped for since my martyrdom, yet the sin I committed is beyond blasphemy. I deserve Your-"

"When I look into your eyes, the pain I see there tears My hearts apart," the destructive goddess interrupted. "I knew her true feelings for you, and they are Mine." She reached beneath lengthy, gray waves, seeking out the painful treasure given to him on the dawn of her twentieth year. Three hearts raced as two hands joined over one piercing. "This is not a sign of friendship. It is an expression of love."

"Don't do this to me. Please, don't tease me like this," the reaper mumbled, just barely brushing his lips against hers.

"My love for you was never unrequited, Hesse. Though she denied it because she believed it was My decree for her to love Adrian, I knew her hearts beat for you, just as they did for him. She loved both of you equally. _I_ , on the other hand, have a different kind of love for Adrian than I do for you. In other words, she was in love with both of you, but _I_ am in love with you," the Conduit confessed. "Do you want to know what the words were that she whispered in your ear every time she kissed it?" He nodded. "I love you, forever and always; transcending fate and time, My love is yours."

"You...she...Did she...Do You mean it? Please don't lead me on. As much as I deserve Your Wrath, all I ask is not to be led on, just this once."

"I am She, and she is Me, therefore, I led both you and Adrian on in different ways out of loss of memory and denial of feelings. It would not have been sinful if she were to return your love when you wanted it." The strange eyed goddess laced her fingers through the repentant shadow's. "Why do you kiss My face when I cry?"

"It was my way of forming an everlasting bond with You without claiming You. It's also why I know when and where You're crying, even beyond the borders of all the realms. I'm sorry I kept it a secret for so long. It's only because my love for You was unrequited..." he trailed off, averting his eyes for fear of the female's fury.

"Was the action not reciprocated?" She cupped the shadow's face in her small hands. "Then, the bond is sealed, is it not?" He nodded within her firm grip. "You are concerned about Adrian watching? No one orders Me. I will touch whomever I please, however I please, when and where I please. I know you wish to touch Me. Do it," she commanded.

The Gray Shadow's heart sped up as his slightly trembling hand slid through lavender locks, eliciting a soft purr in response. "It's been many years since I've touched You. I feel as though..."

"Hesse, when I touch Myself, you're there behind closed eyes. Even when I've made love to him, I thought of you. I couldn't control the images of you, but they were there. I don't know if it was Me or the Formless One trying to help My memory place you with the images of you together as one, but still, in My mind, you were there. Even when she was comatose she called for you. Even though she was angry with you, she wanted to be with you. This is what Emily told Mae who told she, but she didn't believe her because she had forgotten you. Even Sister said it, too, but still she did not believe." The petite's eyes welled with tears as the forgotten memory boiled to the surface. 

"Emily never told me. I suppose it would have hurt me just as much as...Stella, I broke down that day," the Councilman quietly revealed. "I've never broken down for any reason. On that day, I lost my passion for everything and my anguish has consumed me ever since. If it wasn't for Adam...my bloodlust..." he trailed off, refusing to elaborate any further.

The petite scooted even closer to the anguished man and softly caressed his cheek. "Despair no more, My penitent sinner, She forgives you. I will not unleash My Wrath upon you. As a covenant of My forgiveness, I want you to keep the headpiece you made for she." The shadow began to protest, but was cut off by the Divine woman's soft kiss.

/No matter Her form, I love Her. I love Her as She, and as she; as the Sublime Goddess, my Mistress, and as a woman./

~It is you, My Servant, whom She remembers from the days before your godhood. I am She who has come to free you from the False One when Dawn rises from the depths from whence He was unjustly thrown. On the Day of Wrath, we shall dance and spit on the corpses of our enemies.~

/I was the First as a blind martyr, and as a god, I am still the First; a death god, uncreated and without sight, and as One who possesses Eyes of Divine Fire./

The Conduit slowly pulled away, hunger illuminating omnidirectional blue and green eyes. "Your eyes hold the rebirth of passion's flame, My sweet shadow."

"It's because I have been forgiven by You," he humbly responded.

The lavender haired woman turned her attention to her possessive lover. "Adrian is in trouble for fighting for she, isn't he?" she asked in common English. "Can you help him? He doesn't deserve to be punished. I love him and can't bear to see him die."

Legendary Death's acidic glare softened when he heard his lover's soft plea. "Is that what you want, Lovely?"

"It's why I came," the Councilman reiterated as he buttoned his coat. "Will you accept my advocacy?"

"If my Lovely wishes it, let it be done," one legend said to the other.

"She is pleased," the Conduit expressed with a certain air of satisfaction. Her omnidirectional eyes simultaneously observed both men standing beside her. "Adrian, though your eyes never lie, you are a man of many secrets, yet She is loved." A knowing grin spread over her pouty lips. "Secrets shall soon surface and She shall slaughter the sinners. Alas, to take back the desert for My own is useless. The sand is stained with the genocide of My people, and the water runs as red as the sky lit by dual suns with their blood. The dual suns...My hearts...the desert..." she trailed off and joined hands with the ancients. "Hesse, it pleases She to know Adrian's true feelings for you."

*With the simple joining of hands, she knows I'm in love with him and she's not the least bit angry that I've held it in since we've been together. She's not even jealous. In fact, she's happy! Those two are so alike it makes me sick!*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, those two OCs of mine are brazen! I was listening to Faith and the Muse when I typed this. I love them. If you know who they are, you get a cookie.


	7. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella/Conduit's innermost thoughts ~  
> Undertaker's innermost thoughts *  
> Yurei/Ikiryo's innermost thoughts/communication =
> 
> Thanks for the many reads. Much, much appreciated. Sorry it's been a million years since my last update. I planned to update sooner. Too much adulting happened, then I got sick. Despite my stupid ear infection, I'm going to bring you a chapter anyway. Boo sickness! Boo!!!  
> Say goodbye to our friend the Ikryo and hello to Othello's budding romance with Hesse's sexy secretary. I love the idea of nerdy, science guys with a morbid streak getting together with hot, older women with an inner fujoshi computer nerd hiding a love for horrid things, especially if she's the pursuer. I'm just saying.  
> This chapter contains mentions of rape and torture. ***You have been warned***

The forensics agent ran a hand through his shaggy, brown hair as he studied the device that he built. With the assistance of his female colleague, he had succeeded in nullifying the strange, brain invading machine's harmful effects on the males of his race. He checked the connections between the device and neutralized machine, making sure nothing was overlooked. He made triple sure the program his assignment partner designed was online and ready to collect data; free of bugs, malware, or any other such inconveniences. Even the dead reaper's katana was loaded properly, yet he still couldn't understand the reasoning behind this tremendous failure. His analytical mind was stymied by a lifeless machine refusing to share its secrets with him. If there was one thing he hated, it was when he didn't get his way with the machines he built.

"I just don't get it," he muttered to himself. "It worked during beta testing. It's as if...as if something is holding everything in from the outside. I got it to connect with that damn boner inducing machine just fine multiple times. What is so different about adding a Death Scythe to the equation? Still, it feels like something from outside is..." He glared at his handiwork with mounting anger in his wide, emerald eyes. "Dammit, it doesn't make sense for an outside force to control this!" he yelled in frustration.

"You're in rare form today, Othello," a male voice announced from behind him. "Where's Paige?"

"Oh, it's you, White," the startled forensics agent shakily replied. "Paige is in the office sorting classified documents."

The psychotic blond snickered. "I see. I don't believe I've heard anyone refer to this hideous machine as 'boner inducing'. Are you speaking from personal experience?" Receiving no reply, the blond tactlessly continued. "It seems I've hit the nail on the head. Trust me, you're not the only one. Be glad you're younger than me. When my superior told you it was the most dangerous to males our age, he meant it. You see, it preys on our sexual desires to the point of driving us insane. The younger you are, the better, however, if my superior was in this room with that vile machine still activated, he'd kill us all without batting an eye. You do know what they say about us as we age, don't you?"

"'With age, insanity is sure to follow'," the other replied. "I'd hate to see what would happen if Crevan was in this room."

"He's the oldest out of all of us, and no one knows his age, nor does anyone know my superior's age, despite him being the first recycled suicide."

"It's not in his Cinematic Records?"

"His records are the most unique in comparison to the rest of ours. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask him or Crevan, but I can guarantee you that they will tell you nothing."

The brunette eyed the temporary Dispatch manager with deep suspicion. "I think you know more than you're letting on."

"I do, but I will never betray my loyalty to him. Just as I can kill you within seconds, so can he with me in his natural state; blind, beautiful, passionate, and full of bloodlust." He grinned, clicking his tongue piercing against the back of his teeth as his vicious eyes roamed the smaller reaper's body. "My superior likes you quite a bit, Othello. Ah, but we're not here to speak of him. What seems to be the trouble with your device?"

"Oh, the device... Could you not look at me like I'm prey? It's annoying. I had enough of that when Crevan was around," the reclusive reaper grumbled.

"You knew him?" the manager asked, curiosity lighting up bright green and yellow eyes.

"You could say that. He's a weirdo, but he'd say the same about me. It's a long story and I don't feel like going into it. So, about the device," he stated, quickly changing subjects. "It's as if there's an outside force preventing me from starting the extraction procedure. I was able to get it to work during beta testing."

"What's that supposed to mean to me?"

"The device connected to the machine has a program installed that communicates with the 'vile' machine, as you put it, which extracts its power much like that woman...Emily, I believe that's what her name is..." His questioning eyes sought out the manager's for confirmation or denial.

"Correct," he curtly answered.

"Yes, it is designed to act as a simulation of Emily's power when she withdrew Gaines' records from his body into his Death Scythe, but the difference here is-"

"You're trading the Death Scythe for your device?" the blond guessed.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," the brunette confirmed.

The vicious blond backed the smaller reaper against the neutralized machine and tipped his chin up. "You devote yourself to science, Othello. How admirable of you. Your senses are spot on. You are correct about an outside force preventing you from extracting the records."

"I am? How can that be possible?" he intently questioned.

The blond's expression suddenly became deadly serious. "She's alive, Othello. She's been reborn as fire in the form of a woman."

The younger reaper's eyes widened when he realized the reality of the situation. "The same woman Hesse spoke of? Is she really that powerful?" The other nodded. "Then, she's the outside force..." he trailed off.

"Exactly," the ancient replied with a knowing grin.

xxxxxx

~One.~

=One.=

~We are One, Formless One.~

=We are One, Conduit.=

~Vows are broken and bonds are severed. I have familiarized Myself with the familiar strangers, memories of them-of _him_ , the possessor of the Eyes of Divine Fire-have returned. My twin hearts beat as One. You cared for she, thus you have been redeemed in My eyes. My Divine Light awaits you.~

=Conduit, I am prepared to receive Your Divine Light. Let us make a covenant so that You will remember One and as proof of my redemption.=

The petite slightly bowed her head with closed eyes and removed her top. ~Take My world with you and leave behind your interpretation of My hearts.~

=Understood, Conduit.=

Bright light momentarily flooded the room as ink stained arms became clear again. The smell of sand baking under dual suns hanging high in a blood red sky permeated the shop's basement as new patterns formed on divine skin.

=As You wished, a covenant has been made so that You may remember One and as proof of my redemption.=

~You remembered. She is pleased. Formless One, I release you into My Divine Light.~

=Conduit, no longer are we One.=

~No longer are we One.~

The smell of burning sand disappeared when the Ikiryo was redeemed, thus severing all remaining bonds the tattooed woman had with her previous life. Somehow, he knew what happened without having to be informed. The lovers' eyes met when she peeked over her bare shoulder. "The Formless One has been redeemed, Adrian."

The reaper cautiously approached the lavender haired woman. "Your tattoos changed again," he observed, gently skimming his fingertips down the hungry eyes tattooed down the length of her spine. He gasped as each eye appeared to blink independently under his wandering touch.

*Did they really just blink at me? Are they following me too?*

"They are disturbing and beautiful. They're a reflection of your hearts, aren't they?"

The petite nodded. "Yes. This is a covenant that has been made so that I may remember One and as proof of the Formless One's redemption . I am Me. I am She. I am One."

xxxxxx

Only a day had passed and he was already bored with helping the secretary sort through reams of classified material. The device beckoned him, but the allure of the female kept him glued to his seat. For some reason, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked a question that he instantly regretted asking. "How did those 'office slut' rumors get started?"

The redhead slammed a folder down on the desk and glared at the other reaper. "So, you think I'm some kind of cheap slut that puts out for anyone? Dammit, just because I have big-"

"No, that's not what I meant at all," the forensics agent defended. "I was just wondering because Hesse gave me a pretty harsh warning about you and mentioned how poorly you've been treated. I don't think that your looks and personality validate the rumors."

The petite reaper's glare softened. "Really?"

"I swear on my collection of specimens, which are superior to Crevan's, I might add," he promised with a hint of morbid pride evident in his voice.

"Funny you should mention him, because he's the one who's responsible," she bitterly recalled.

"Oh, how so? You're not that old, are you?"

"I'm afraid I am, but the other ancients like to lump myself and others my age in with the 'younger generation' because we came along only a few years before the end of the 'old ways'. My generation was trained using the old method and the new method. Anyway, after my training, the Council was already instated and females were no longer allowed out in the field, so I wound up working in the secretarial pool and General Affairs for a while until I caught Crevan's eye. He hired me as his personal secretary. Of course, I had a crush on him at the time. Every girl did. He was a flawless beauty back then."

"I know. Even the guys wanted to take him to bed."

"Anyway, I wasn't so outgoing in my youth. I was shy, gullible, and believed whatever sweet words a man would tell me, especially _his_. We went on a few dates and of course, we had sex, but it was just once. When I came to work the next day, he fired me. When I questioned him, he said that 'I was boring to be around' and that he didn't want to work with a 'slut who'll spread her legs for anyone'. I ran out of his office in tears without bothering to gather my things. Ever since then, everyone I've worked for has harassed me in some way and it's all because of Crevan's foul mouth. If I ever see him again, I'd like to sucker punch him," the redhead seethed.

"Crevan's an asshole like that. It's in the past. What made you so outgoing now?"

"It was either let the gossip get to me and cry about it, or get used to the way things were going to be and express myself as I saw fit, even at the risk of validating the rumors." The curly haired reaper grabbed the male's hand. "Sorry I unloaded on you like that. I must have made you feel uneasy. I admit, it's frustrating that all men see when they look at me is a pair of tits and a nice ass. I do have a brain in my head, you know."

"I know, and that's what I like about you," the brunette confessed.

"I like eccentric men like you who know their science in all its gory detail. I know you look at me when you think I don't know it. I don't mind because I'm looking at you too." She plucked the younger man's frameless glasses from their place on his face and gazed into his eyes with a unique madness lurking behind cat eyed frames. "You have such big, beautiful eyes, Othello," the secretary complimented as she gently cupped the other's face in her hands. "They sparkle with the secrets of..." she trailed off into an impulsive, yet soft kiss to the younger man. Her heart raced as he returned her kiss with the sweetness she craved. For such a reclusive man, he was an excellent kisser, and she was more than pleased, especially when he pulled her closer to him. "I've been wanting to do that since I've met you," she admitted as they broke the kiss. She delicately returned the glasses to their rightful place, followed by an innocent kiss.

"Me, too," he confessed as he kissed her again with sweet passion. An ecstatic chill rushed down his spine when he felt a curious, metal object caress his tongue. He knew he definitely wasn't hallucinating this time when he felt this new, exhilarating sensation. His heart raced as she pressed her body against his, intensifying the kiss. If they were human, they'd be dead from lack of oxygen by now...Of course, a thought like that would enter his head while he had an incredibly beautiful woman in his arms. That, and the thought of dissecting her and seeing what made her so damn beautiful. Of course, he'd never do that unless she wanted him to.

"You're amazing, if you don't mind me pointing that out," she remarked between soft, sweet kisses.

"I might be a bit of a recluse, but I'm no virgin," he replied. "Your tongue piercing...have you always had it?"

"No, it's recent. It's a sign of loyalty to Hesse. Adam has one too, among other reapers loyal to Hesse. It's nothing inappropriate, I assure you, but it is the one way to symbolize that I will not betray him no matter what the cost, which is why I, in my position, have access to classified documents. You know, my tongue isn't the only place I'm pierced," the petite said lowly as she seductively steered the conversation back on course.

"Where else are you..." he trailed off as his eyes followed hers. "Here?" he guessed, poking her navel.

"Lower," she whispered.

Wide, emerald eyes went wider when he ascertained the location of the female's mystery piercing. The blushing, red haired ancient with the demure smile, love for computer programming, and hidden piercing was, indeed, his ideal woman. His desire for her was at its breaking point and he knew she knew it. A woman like her with a madness such as hers always had a way of knowing these things. A not so innocent pink dusted his cheeks when he realized just how close he was to either taking her or taking himself. "I still get nervous around you," he mumbled.

"I can tell. You're blushing." The petite giggled lightly and took his hands in hers. "It's ok, I get a little nervous around you, too. I do like you, Othello. Take it as it is."

"I feel the same way, Paige. I think we should be getting back to work now. I'm going to see if the device is working correctly," the shaggy haired reaper said as he prepared to exit the office.

"That's a good idea. It's been a day since the last time you tried," she agreed.

The forensics agent didn't stick around to hear anything else the redhead had to say after he escaped to the relative safety of solitude. "I can't believe she kissed _me_. She is so goddamn beautiful...the ideal woman...this has got to be a dream. I hope Hesse doesn't kill me if he finds out that I also kissed her. That guy is scary no matter what she says, and no matter how much White says he likes me," he muttered to himself as he loaded the arrogant reaper's katana into the extracting device. After making sure it was properly secured, he entered a password that powered on the entirety of the apparatus, anxiously awaiting the holographic screen with the red 'EXECUTE' icon to pop up. A low humming resounded in the reaper's ears, indicating that the apparatus was working. His wide, emerald eyes joyfully lit up when the coveted holographic screen popped up, waiting to be manipulated by an operator. He pressed the red 'EXECUTE' icon. Bright light flooded the immediate area as the katana began regurgitating its dirty secrets. The startled brunette quickly paused the procedure and scurried into the adjacent office to notify the borderline ancient of the project's long awaited success. "Paige, it works! Come with me to help collect the data."

The woman in red perked up. "Really? I'll be right there."

A few moments later the odd pair were huddled together, examining the lewd reaper's records as the images appeared on the holographic screen. "I'm going to slow the records at times that I think are important to the case. You can also point anything out that you believe may be important. For example, anything that corroborates with the documents you're sorting. I want you to notate it, no matter how damning and filthy it is," the shaggy haired man instructed.

"You can count on me," she assured the stiffening man in her clutches.

The analytical reaper turned away as his face heated up with a deep flush. "Yeah...um, are you ready?" he asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.

"I made you uncomfortable, didn't I, Othello? I'm sorry," the petite softly apologized. "I guess I can be too outgoing for my own good, huh? It wasn't my intention to make you feel that way, but I really do like you, though." She smiled sheepishly, although the embarrassed man couldn't see it. "Let's just get back to work."

"It's not like that, Paige," he said lowly. "Being this close to you makes me nervous. It's like it's too good to be true. You...You're my ideal woman," he shyly admitted. A pair of large breasts pressed against his back as slender arms wrapped around him. "It took a lot for me to say that, you know."

"Thank you. If you don't mind my saying so, an analytical mind hiding a barbaric streak is an ideal quirk I look for in a man, especially if he's younger than me. I guess you could say that we're made for each other in some form or fashion," the redhead purred as she kissed the younger reaper behind his left ear, sending shivers down his spine.

The brunette relaxed in one way, but not the other in the female's warm embrace. "I think we should get to work. It's not like I'm uninterested in you or anything. Think of this as a twisted sort of movie date for under the table pay." He looked over his shoulder at the flirtatious secretary and gave her a shy, yet reassuring smile. "Are you ready?"

The redhead beamed at the forensics agent. "I am when you are."

Both reapers prepared for data collection as images flashed across the screen. A particular, noteworthy scene caught the brunette's eye. "Paige, prepare to notate," he ordered.

They watched in awe as the fabled death match between two legends played before them on the holographic screen. "I finally get to see their death match. It's too bad I wasn't even thought of as a human when this happened," the petite mused.

"Why the hell is Gaines peeping on Crevan and Hesse having sex?" the logical reaper blurted out.

"Oh, let me see! Mmm...Hesse is dominating the fuck out of that legendary son of a bitch. This is so exciting!" the curly haired reaper gushed as the shadow brutally made the silver reaper submit to him. "Oh gods, he's in love with Hesse, too! Oh my, Hesse has got him bound up tight in the 'humbler'!" she squealed with her hands clasped tightly together with a strange bloodlust illuminating wide, jade and gold eyes behind cat eyed frames. "Othello, this is so hot! I didn't know that 'Mr. Big Shot', Legendary Death could be such a submissive bitch. Did you?" She bit her lip as lewd thoughts of the Gray Shadow dripping hot wax over Legendary Death's privately pierced place were replaced with fantasies of her doing the same with the man beside her. She shivered at the prospect and wondered if he'd submit to her the way creation submitted himself to the shadow. 

The forensics agent raised an eyebrow at the secretary lost in her own fantastic madness. "At least she's doing her work," he muttered under his breath. "Moving on," he announced as he hit the 'RESUME' icon.

The pouting petite notated a few passing scenes throughout the centuries of the dead reaper's existence. "Wait, stop!" the redhead cried out. "Is that Gaines with a demoness?"

The forensics agent rewound the records slightly, morbid curiosity overtaking the monotonous boredom the procedure had quickly become as he watched the arrogant man rape, then flay the demoness alive. He covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the shrill shrieks of torment the Hellish beauty uttered as her murderer mercilessly beat her with his katana. Every strike was a sadistic, forty five degree angle designed to peel off her pitch black skin. Every drop of blood shed was a reminder that her slow death was much harsher than the already torturous deaths her race was dealt when their lives were dragged out by simply being impaled by one of those wretched Death Scythes. She curled into a fetal position, clinging to what she considered her last shred of demonic dignity as he continued the slow torture. She continued clinging tightly to her horns while the skin near her hidden place split and fell away from muscle and bone into a pool the color of her dying eyes. She shrieked in tormented agony, praying to the Goddess that she would soon taste death, and for Her to have mercy upon her soul because she refused to betray her beloved, the Prophet.

"Why is he demanding the whereabouts of the Prophet?" the shaggy haired reaper inquired.

"The poor demoness died for the woman she loved," the petite said sadly. "I still don't understand what use raping and torturing her to death serves to achieve his goals."

"I don't know either. It seems counterproductive to me, but Gaines was always an asshole."

"Tell me about it. He was the worst of all my bosses that sexually harassed me. If it wasn't for Marcus Jones walking in on us, he would have raped me. I owe that man a million times over."

The forensics agent balked at the ancient petite's revelation. "That sadistic asshole?"

"You didn't like Marcus?" she questioned.

"He was alright, I guess. I just can't picture him as the kind of guy who would swoop in to save anyone," the stunned man responded.

"I was like a daughter to him. I guess because I'm so small compared to him," the petite said with a blush and a chuckle.

"Wait, so Hesse-"

"I didn't know him at the time, although I knew of him by his reputation. I was bounced around so many departments throughout the ages, so, you know..." she trailed off, expecting the other to understand.

"I understand," he replied. "Let's move on, shall we?"

The secretary nodded her compliance. Without further delay, the answers to their questions appeared before them on the holographic screen in all of its ugliness. "I know what this is. I saw it in the classified documents I sorted yesterday..." the redhead grimly trailed off with one hand covering her mouth. She angrily shook her head, refusing to utter another word. Instead, she hit the 'RESUME' icon and prepared for the snuff film that was once Martin Gaines' life to air itself in a despicable private screening for both herself and the forensics agent's viewing displeasure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what "the humbler" is, ask google-sensei. I will say that it is an apparatus designed to be a very humiliating form of submission for a man with heavy CBT and immobilization being the emphasis. I refuse to elaborate any further since I don't want to be the one responsible for warping fragile, young minds. I know people who don't adult read this. There's a time and place for everything and that's in college. Furthermore, I won't reveal *my* secrets.


	8. Extremes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reads and kudos. Sorry for the long wait. The main bathroom in my house broke and I've had to deal with my landlord coming over every day to fix it, so I haven't been able to concentrate on anything. At least I have a second bathroom. Yay!  
> Anyway, Othello and Paige kinda take it to the next level without intending to do so. Othello and his fetishes. Jeez, restrain yourself, dude.  
> This chapter contains graphic violence, mention of cannibalism, genocide, and implied underage sexual content. ***You have been warned.***

_A group of Empaths led by an imposing, raven haired reaper bearing an uncanny resemblance to Legendary Death selected several frightened, young Rarities to be used for nefarious purposes. A pair of twin toddlers with purple hair tugged on the reaper's pant leg as he was herding the selected few to their cages. Their wide, brightly glowing blue and green eyes gazed up at his glaring, chartreuse double irises. Instead of fleeing from him like the other child Rarities did when he looked at them, they clung to his legs and continued peering up at him._

_"What the hell do you want?" he snapped._

_"Our Hour has struck. Please kill us kindly," the tiny Rarities requested in their native language._

_The ponytailed reaper looked at them as though they were complete imbeciles. "Go away," he harshly commanded._

_A blond Empath with glowing blue eyes and an ever present, cheerfully sadistic grin approached the reaper. "Mr. Gaines, they want you to kill them."_

_"Are you fucking kidding me, Glass! They're just kids!"_

_"Rarities know when their Hours strike all the way down to the last millisecond. These little ones are brave and they want_ you _to kill them. After all, your weapon is more humane compared to that asshole with the pole over there. It seems he just showed up out of nowhere." The rogue blond turned his attention to the twins while the reaper was distracted. "You think he's pretty, don't you? Is that why you want him to kill you?" he asked in the Empath's common tongue, earning eager nods from both girls. "Make papa proud, you two. Die with dignity and grace." The sadistic grin on the blond's face softened to a somewhat sad smile for a mere split second as he ruffled purple tresses._

_"The day our Hours strike is the day we meet, papa," the twins pointed out. "Remember us."_

_Three identical sets of cheerfully sadistic grins spread over three faces of a father reuniting with daughters in the Hour of their impending deaths. "Only you two will I treasure out of this lot." He laughed as he ruffled the girls' hair a final time before turning his attention back to the impatient reaper. "Do you know him, Mr. Gaines?" he asked, quickly reverting to the original topic at hand._

_Both men observed the pruner wielding trainee unleashing unspeakable cruelties on Rarities of all ages before finally dispatching them with the business end of his Death Scythe. "Not personally. I am only aware that he's Crevan's student," the high ranking reaper answered. "I believe his name is Spears, if I remember correctly. I've always heard he was a stoic fellow. I wonder what it is that's driving this sudden bloodlust of his. I find it refreshing, although I don't approve of what he's doing to the children. No matter, he may prove useful for our needs." A smug smirk made a comfortable home on the imposing man's face. "It seems you know those little girls quite well, Glass. Is there something I should know?"_

_The sadistic blond refused to answer the question put forth to him. Instead, he remained on topic with an ever widening grin and a casual shrug. "Why don't you ask Spears about his bloodlust directly. He can't oppose you. You do outrank him. Besides, you need to humanely euthanize the 'unnecessary' children," he said sarcastically._

_Reaper and Empath smiled down at the purple haired twins. "That's right, Glass. These aren't the two that we're missing," he said with a saccharine grin as he summoned his Death Scythe._

_Just before he was about to execute the twins eagerly awaiting their deaths, the blond grabbed his wrist. "Make it clean, quick, and merciful. They're...They like you. It's the least you can do."_

_"I don't kill kids without mercy, Glass. I don't believe in 'sins of the father'." Upon seeing the katana, the twin toddlers backed away from the reaper in the black, velvet coat. They joined hands, prepared for the end, with matching cheerfully sadistic grins on their faces and eerie heterocromatic lights glowing in wide eyes. The reaper momentarily hesitated as he stared at their faces. That's when he realized why the sadistic blond was so insistent about their deaths being merciful. "These are yours," he murmured, although the other man didn't hear him. Nevertheless, two more cheerfully sadistic grins were eradicated from existence as he cleanly decapitated the girls, granting them the merciful deaths they wished for. "Before I deal with Spears, I want to tie up loose ends here," the reaper stated in a business-like tone as he escorted the rogue to a makeshift prison area._

_A black haired female with subtly glowing, neon green eyes summoned the arrogant man and led him to an isolated cell. "I think she's going to talk, Mr. Gaines."_

_An abused woman stripped of all her attire, except for her headdress lifted her head and faced her captor. "I will only speak with him, you blasphemous bitch," she spat at the female Empath._

_The green eyed woman began to protest, but the reaper harshly dismissed her. "You can speak my language?" The woman nodded. "Why me?"_

_She struggled to scoot closer to the bars of the makeshift cage. Her hypnotic, glowing eyes met his, beckoning him to join her. "I am a High Priestess of my people and I am very old. I have learned many languages over the span of my life." She stretched her hand out and stroked the ancient reaper's cheek, sending little shivers down his spine. "You have the strongest of the child Rarities. I am sorry that I know not where the other two are as I cannot sense anything beyond the borders of my realm, however, I do know that someone known to you has fled with them." Tears fell from the priestess' heterocromatic eyes as she bowed her head. "I will burn in Her Holy Hatred never to see Her Divine Light, for I am a traitor to my Sisters and my people." Glistening tears met rarely seen sympathetic, chartreuse eyes. "I have bartered the Goddess' Choicest Fruit to be made into slaves with everlasting hatred in my heart. In a few moments you will give me a merciless death as my Hour has struck; a death I more than deserve."_

_The high ranking reaper affectionately stroked the ancient Rarity's turquoise hair. "Hatred for whom?" he softly inquired._

_"Myself," she answered with guilt heavily weighing down her husky, accented voice. She clutched the male's fingers through the bars of her cage, desperation aglow in wavering lights. "I have told you all that I know. I care not what you do to me, but can you and your allies please stop the genocide?"_

_The sympathy in the ancient reaper's eyes immediately became cold cruelty as he rose to his feet, katana drawn and prepared to taste the flesh of anyone in its path. "The other two are still missing, so I'm afraid not," he said with cold, precise evenness. Without another word, he sliced open the useless priestess from navel to nose, unfazed by her insides spilling outside. He huffed in annoyance when splatters of otherworldly blood dotted the lenses of his glasses. "Fucking shit, her blood is almost like lava. I'm going to have to get new lenses," he muttered under his breath as he watched blue and green fade to gray. He summoned the blond rogue to his presence once he was bored with the spectacle of a death he dealt the priestess. "I've gotten all I could out of that one. Take care of the rest on your end. I have certain interests I want to pursue before heading back." A malicious grin spread over the reaper's face as he gave the dark command on a dark day marking the end of a race and their world._

xxxxxx

Both the forensics agent and the secretary watched the horrifying genocide of the Empaths continue in all of its gory detail. The desert, the water, and the sky became one in a sea of blood as bodies piled high; overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of harbingers of death and destruction hailing from a place unknown to them. Not all of the bloodshed was one sided. The pair's eyes went wide as they observed a group of Rarities eat an inexperienced, young reaper alive, only to end up dead hours later at the hands of reapers far more experienced and dangerous than the one they dined upon. Not even the power of the Rarities' minds could stop the overwhelming numbers of reapers that seemed to keep pouring in from out of nowhere, however, their interests were more in line with preserving the sanctity of their temple city than their own lives as each was cruelly snuffed out.

Tears sprung to the redhead's eyes as she observed the katana wielding reaper nonchalantly decapitate child Rarities while the elders met much crueler fates often involving sexual assault with a deadly weapon. "Yet, he scolded Spears for torturing them when he's doing the same thing..." she trailed off.

"Did you forget to notate what he said, Paige? He only wanted the children to be granted 'merciful' deaths," the brunette reminded his tearful coworker.

"Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me," the petite sniffled. "I'll do so right away."

"Paige, do you want to take a break?" he asked, gently wiping away her tears.

"I'm fine, Othello," she replied, gripping both of his hands in hers. "I can finish my work. It's just that...Let's just finish it together, ok." She forced a smile and softly pressed her lips on his hands, sending little shivers down his spine.

"I agree. I am a bit curious about Spears' unhinged behavior. It's completely out of character for him." The madly blushing man met jade and gold eyes innocently staring at him from behind cat eyed glasses. "Well, at least for that time..." he trailed off into a soft, passionate kiss with the voluptuous petite. "Sorry," he quickly apologized. "Let's get back to work."

"It's ok, Othello, I don't mind. I'll finish my notations right now, ok."

He nodded in agreement as he turned his attention back to the holographic screen in front of him. The clacking of heels being tossed onto concrete and a huffy feminine voice tore his attention away from the flickering image of a destroyed world frozen on the holographic screen. 

"Dammit, why does it have to be so terribly hot? Entropy would be nice for machinery, don't you think? Unfortunately, they aren't entirely isolated systems." The petite stood to her full height-or rather lack thereof-and removed her red, velvet shrug, leaving behind a matching red, spaghetti strap dress. "That's better, although it's not much cooler. I think I'll make a little air conditioning unit for us. Wouldn't that be nice, Othello?" she wistfully mused as she sat down to resume her work.

The analytical reaper stared at the stunning redhead's back as she droned on about entropy and homemade air conditioners. He hesitantly reached out and drifted shaking fingertips over a nude woman wearing the skin of a golden jackal emblazoned on her left shoulder. "Interesting work. It looks like the idols in the temple ruins on Gaines' records," he murmured.

"Oh, my tattoo. I worship a pantheon of goddesses whose sacred animals are many different varieties of canids," the secretary informed. "It's not the same faith as Hesse's. His is monotheistic, whereas mine is polytheistic and embraces the Goddess in all of Her forms."

The forensics agent continued to examine the unique skin art as the ancient explained the tenets of her faith to him. The softness of her skin and the way her muscles and tendons moved beneath his fingers as she worked was stimulating. He knew he wanted to keep her for himself and he wondered if she felt the same way too. His heart raced when she turned her head to face him, inadvertently exposing a tiny hint of black lace under red velvet. Her knowing, jade and gold eyes pierced his as she waited for a response to her long explanation regarding her religion. "Your religion heavily parallels Hesse's," he absently responded. "I'm not suggesting it's the same-"

"I know, Othello, and I didn't think that you were," she reassured as she freed long locks from metal confines, allowing lengthy ringlets to splay about her body like exposed arteries.

On sheer impulse, the younger reaper gave in to his desire and pulled the female on top of him. He relished in her blood colored ringlets draped over him as he kissed her with morbidly intense passion. He was fully aroused by all the sensations the ancient female provided him, especially when the metal in her mouth made contact with his. He moaned lowly as she freed what made him a man from black slacks just as he slipped curious fingers into her hidden place, eager to tease her with her own private piercing. "Someone's a little naughty," the brunette flirtatiously quipped as the secretary lewdly ground her hips against the teasing fingers expertly unlocking her secret places.

"O-Othello, the way you touch me feels so amazing. I think my brain just broke." The redhead's eyes flashed with possessive lust as she gazed at the young male. "I want to take you. Fuck those damn rumors. I only want you. I'm going to make you mine," she growled out between pleasured moans.

The scientist's heart rate went into maximum overdrive as he became ensnared by the possessive woman's bewitchingly innocent jade and gold eyes paired with a demure smile. "There's no need to make me something that I already am," he meaningfully responded. "Since we're both possessive oddities, the question remains, may I, too, have you?"

"Do you even have to ask." Any further response out of the enraptured male was cut off by the red haired secretary's fiery kiss as she gradually impaled herself on him. She ground her hips down hard on his, yelping in pleasure as he found interesting ways to tease her private piercing as she moved astride him. In such a confined space, even she was limited with what she could do to the fascinating man unlocking her secret places. She found it extremely hard to believe that he was as reclusive as he claimed to be considering the fact that she was experiencing a whole new level of ecstasy that defied the laws of physics. She would never say it out loud since she knew men hated being compared to each other, but in her opinion, the shaggy haired reaper was better in bed than Legendary Death, and she knew by experience. She gazed down at the forensics agent and kissed him with crazed lust. Slender fingers slid through soft, shaggy brown, eliciting a pleasured moan from the eccentric man. She felt him release inside her as she intensified the kiss.

"Paige, let your hair drape over me again," the brunette softly implored. "I feel like I'm being baptized in silky hemoglobin when you do that."

"Aren't we kinky, Othello?" the petite playfully quipped. "I like it." She gracefully obliged with a sweet, demure smile as she rode the younger reaper at a slightly slower, teasing pace. "You look like a blood princess."

"You are _my_ blood princess," he emphatically responded with possessive lust illuminating emerald double irises.

"Then, that makes you _my_ deranged prince," she replied just as emphatically, possessive lust equally luminescent in her jade and gold eyes. When her lips made contact with the other reaper's skin, it wasn't a kiss, rather it was to stake her claim. She smiled into the crimson gash behind his left ear when he came to completion inside her. To satisfy his scarlet fetish to its fullest, she gifted him with a kiss tasting of his own blood.

"I'll get you back when we're not stuck in a tiny little space like this," the forensics agent warned.

"I'll be looking forward to it," the ancient seductively replied.

xxxxxx

The somewhat fully dressed reapers picked up where they left off as if nothing happened. The male successfully fought off the urge to tear off what was left of the alluring secretary's clothing and fuck her until she died a second death. "You're tiny just like those Rarities," he said, pointing out the obvious regarding her short stature.

"I'm 5'2", but at least I don't get confused for a child," she replied with a dry laugh as she squeezed her ample breasts to illustrate her point. "I wonder how late it is? I don't know if we're allowed to accrue overtime on this assignment."

The brunette suddenly realized how far behind schedule acting on his desires put himself and his assignment partner. "Damn, you're right. I should've thought of that. Ok, remember to carefully notate anything unusual. We're getting closer to the End Credits," he instructed as he hit the RESUME icon.

The petite nodded her compliance and began viewing the X-rated scenes of the dead reaper's life on the monitor. She tapped her coworker on the shoulder and pointed out an unusual scene of great interest. "There, go back a little ways. A bit more...rewind it a bit further. Do you see that? Just what is going on with Gaines? This is completely odd, especially for someone like him."

"It certainly is," the other agreed, equally as bewildered as she.

xxxxxx

_"I just can't bring myself to fuck you like that," the imposing reaper mumbled to himself. "That position is too objectifying for you. Come to me, beautiful," he said sweetly, coaxing the Rarity out of her submissive presentation on her hands and knees. It was plainly obvious that the sadness mixed with the innocent hunger in her glowing eyes hit a secret soft spot in his greedy heart._

_"Am I going to be punished, Mr. Gaines?" she meekly questioned, tears threatening to spill from bejeweled eyes. She flinched when he gently tucked a stray lavender lock behind her ear._

_"I'm not going to punish you. I've told you repeatedly that I don't abuse beautiful women." He let out an exasperated sigh when she resisted his tender touch. "Have I ever abused you?" The petite shook her head. "Do you think I'm going to take advantage of you?"_

_The weapon slightly raised her head and answered in a whisper with downcast eyes, "I don't understand, Mr. Gaines. I never know what you're thinking. I'm afraid of you, yet I crave your affection because you are here and because your hair is long and beautiful. Yet, to you, I am nothing but a common whore, an object, property, or a prize to be won. I am not a woman."_

_The reaper turned the teenage girl's face toward him, forcing her to look into his chartreuse eyes. "I don't think so lowly of you as you believe. If I did, I would have fucked you the same way I fuck Mae. Even though she likes it, I know that you don't. By the way, you can call me Martin since it's just the two of us tonight, but that will be our little secret." The project obediently nodded. "Answer this for me, have I ever fucked you like a common whore? Did I fuck you like a common whore tonight?"_

_"No, Martin, you're usually gentle, even when you take advantage of me, however, you wanted to objectify me the fifth time we were going to do it tonight, but then you said what you said," the experiment replied._

_"That, I can't deny, but there's just something about fucking a girl from behind that turns me on..." he trailed off into his own lewd thoughts until he noticed the young Rarity obsessively staring at the inky tendrils spilling over his shoulder. He internally smiled as she cautiously reached out to touch his tempting tresses, stopping just short of doing so in obvious fear of punishment. "Do you want to touch my hair?" he asked, pulling the naked Rarity closer to him until she was in her rightful place on his lap. "I don't let anyone touch my hair, not even Emily, but for you, I'll make an exception. This, too, will be our little secret."_

_The tattooed winter's obsession overrode her fear, and for the first time she smiled at the arrogant man._

_The high ranking reaper gently caressed the Rarity's cheek. "You have a lovely smile, Stella. Showing your enemy such a sweet expression will be our little secret."_

_"Our little secret, Martin. Tonight, and I have a feeling there will be more 'tonights' in the future that will be 'our little secret'," she predicted while she allowed soft strands of midnight to slip through her fingers. "Your hair is so soft and beautiful, Martin. I wish to arrange it."_

_The black haired ancient's heart raced as the weapon's lips brushed against his. "Oh gods, Stella, whatever it is you're doing to me...don't stop," he pleaded from a faraway place once he was ensnared by the subtle, hypnotic glow of the Rarity's heterocromatic eyes. "Anything you want...I am yours to do with as you please..." he permitted while stealing a gentle kiss from the sixteen year old holding him at her mercy._

_That night, a strange, new ritual began. When the petite rose up to her knees to dig her fingers into void colored roots, the bearer of the roots wrapped his arms around her. While she buried her face in darkness, inhaling the scent of patchouli and old lace, he buried his in exotic silk, taking in the sweet smell of mimosa blossoms. When she slid slender fingers through midnight strands, he drifted kisses down the length of her torso. He would freely submit to her whims while she worked her magic on his raven tresses. He didn't even care if she left him with unrelieved sexual tension once the ritual was complete. As long as she was there, touching him as he touched her, he was satisfied, however, this was a secret that, if revealed, would leave him naked and vulnerable, so he never made it known. The erotic sounds escaping from her pouty lips as his long, black hair slipped through her fingers instantly tore away the mask of cruelty he displayed to the rest of the world. As she arranged his hair into simple, minimalist works of art, he held her close, and in his own way, silently communicated his desire for her and hoped that she felt the same way, too. The ritual always came to an end exactly the same way: sealed with a kiss as soft as his hair and as passionate as her dedication to her work. The obsessive, affectionate, secret ritual between enemies would always carry on this way, from now on into the future until the day they parted from each other._

_After the trichophiliacs exchanged an especially erotic kiss, the petite blushed and asked the reaper's opinion of the low slung ponytail spilling over his bare shoulder._

_"It looks feminine, but I like it because it's your work. You did well," he sincerely complimented._

_"Martin, don't do this to me. I detest insincere flattery."_

_The captivated ancient peered up at the Rarity, chartreuse double irises glazed over with tears threatening to spill. "I don't know what it is you do to me, but I find myself giving in to you." Tears unwillingly slipped down his face as he made his confession. "If circumstances were different, I'd tell you all that I feel about you."_

_"You have Emily," the weapon reminded the reaper._

_"Do you really think she wants me?" he resentfully asked, voice muffled by the female's soft skin._

_Winter weaponry lifted the high ranking reaper's head up and beheld a tearful face that she alone would see. The genuine loneliness and vulnerability in his chartreuse eyes moved her to tears as well. "Why are_ you _crying, Martin?" she questioned as she gently stroked his well angled face._

_"I can't change the fact that I'm possessive. I can't change my nature. I can't stop aging, nor can I stop the insanity that accompanies each passing century. I wish you didn't hate me." He looked up at her with genuine sincerity in his bright eyes. "Gods, Stella, if only circumstances were different, this wouldn't have to be our secret."_

xxxxxx

The odd pair concluded the viewing of the arrogant reaper's Cinematic Records in shocked silence. They finally got all the answers they needed, including the identity of the Prophet and why the dead man envied the legend and feared the shadow. The most perplexing of his behavior was the extreme difference in how he treated the Conduit in public compared to in private throughout her time spent with him during the eugenics program.

"He loved her," the forensics agent concluded. "He couldn't bring himself to tell her directly, but his actions clearly demonstrate it."

"Do you think 'Mr. Big Shot' knows?" the redhead asked.

The brunette affectionately nuzzled the petite. "You really hate the bastard, huh?" She nodded. "Well, if he reaped her, then he ought to have some idea. He's an intelligent man. There's no denying that despite any hard feelings toward him. I have a feeling that he might have felt a bit of jealousy, but nothing to write home about simply because Gaines isn't known for having a sincere bone in his body."

"I think it's simpler than that. I think that Crevan just didn't believe Stella would return Gaines' feelings. I mean, who would? Everyone knew he wasn't worth it. His rotten personality ruined his good looks and it rubbed all the ladies the wrong way, so that's why he always went after humans. They were gullible enough to buy his bullshit and jump into bed with him at the drop of a hat. Not even _I_ was that stupid in my youth."

The brunette looked deep in thought for a moment. "I agree. Then, what would be your opinion if I told you that Crevan would have an opposite reaction if he saw her and Hesse together? Remember what you notated earlier. I'm almost positive that his love for Hesse never faded, and we all know about how possessive he is."

"I'd say his reaction would definitely be one of jealous rage simply because she did what he could never do. She opened Hesse's heart and he opened hers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a little late but I need to let you know that I'll be taking a brief hiatus because my house is undergoing major repairs due to the aftermath of the insane amount of rainy weather my area has experienced. Since my partner works during the day, I have to deal with the repairman and the landlord. I'll only be able to focus on finishing the rough draft. I may pop over to improve the erotic scenes in Unnecessary Shadows and Object because they lack the same passion that I have been dishing out at present. Frankly, it's cringey and it needs to be rewritten. I assure you that I am not giving up on the fic. I will finish it. Thank you for your patience and reading my story. I really appreciate it. I will return with something sexy for you guys.


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